BUKIT KAYU HITAM: The Malaysian Border Security Agency (Aksem) has foiled an attempt by a retired soldier to smuggle 65 live pangolins worth RM75,000 out of the country today.
Bukit Kayu Hitam Aksem Commander, ASP Mohd Khairi Abdullah said the 57-year-old man, who was driving a Mercedes car, was detained during a roadblock set up at Km1.1 Bukit Kayu Hitam, heading towards Thailand, at 10am.
He said checks on the vehicle revealed a number of blue sacks containing live pangolins weighing about 300kg.
“The sacks were covered with canvas sheet in the car boot.
“The man failed to furnish the relevant documents and admitted to obtaining the mammals from a person in Jitra.
“Investigation revealed that the car was earlier driven by another person to a place where the pangolins were collected before it was returned to the man from Kuala Nerang,” he told a press conference at Aksem’s administration complex today.
Mohd Khairi said the man claimed to have receive a total of RM1,800 or RM6 for every kilogramme of the pangolins that he transported.
“We believed that it was not the man’s first time smuggling the animals.
“We believe that the pangolins were ordered by different people in the neighbouring countries based on the paint colours on the animals.
“We believe that pangolins are in demand for its meat used in exotic dishes and scales used in traditional medicine. This is despite the hefty price of up to RM20,000 per kg,” he said.
He said the total seizure value was estimated at RM95,000 including the car which was worth about RM20,000.
He said the man, together with the pangolins and the car, would be handed over to the Peninsular National Parks and Wildlife Department for further action.
He said the man faced five charges under Wildlife Conservation Act 2010, while the animals would be released back into the wild as pangolin is an endangered species.
Get the latest World Cup 2018 scores, highlights and updates from our dedicated World Cup page