Asia-Pacific News
Malaysian wildlife officers foil animal smugglers
Jan 6, 2008, 4:30 GMT
Kuala Lumpur - Malaysian wildlife officers foiled an attempt to smuggle out several protected animals and animal body parts that were believed to be destined for China, a news report said Sunday.
Officers from the wildlife department launched raids on two houses in the eastern state of Kelantan, Friday and seized three live female pangolins, two skinned pangolins, a skinned bat, the head and legs of a mountain goat, body parts and meat of wild boars and pangolins as well as python skins.
The animals and the body parts were believed to be worth more than 30,000 ringgit (8,824 dollars), said Celescoriano Razond, director of the department's criminal division.
'The pangolins and the rest of the items were obtained from (within) the country, and were meant to be exported to China as delicacies and for medicinal purposes,' Razond was quoted as saying by the Sunday Star newspaper.
He said five local men aged between 46 and 52 were also arrested during the raids.
The suspects would be held in remand for investigations, and if found guilty of smuggling, face a fine of 21,000 ringgit (6,176 dollars) and 18 years' jail.
© 2008 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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