Asia-Pacific News
Malaysian police seize 40 smuggled live pangolins
Sep 28, 2009, 9:30 GMT
Kuala Lumpur - Malaysian police seized 40 live pangolins believed to have been brought illegally out of Indonesia and headed for cooking pots in the country, a news report said Monday.
Six officers from the southern Johor state spent four days staking out a river popular with smugglers when they spotted two boats approaching the coast late Sunday.
Two men were then seen loading sacks of live pangolins into a car, before they realised they'd been discovered and immediately sped away, the Star online news portal reported.
'Our men gave chase and after about 100 metres, the smuggler lost control of the car, which skidded into the river,' said unit head Azha Ahmad.
Azha said the driver escaped but police detained a 24-year-old man who was also in the vehicle.
The pangolins, worth more than 70,000 ringgit (18,919 dollars), were surrendered to the state's wildlife and national parks department.
The suspect had been detained and questioned for a previous case of suspected smuggling of pangolins from Indonesia, said police.
Pangolins, which are protected species, are popular for their meat which is believed by some to have medicinal value.
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