Malaysian marine police thwart possum smuggling bid

Mar 2, 2011, 3:04 GMT

Kuala Lumpur - Malaysian marine officers have foiled an attempt to smuggle in 200 sugar glider possums from neighbouring Indonesia, news reports said Wednesday.

Officials from the southern region's maritime agency intercepted a passenger boat early Tuesday, and discovered the squirrel-like marsupials in cages wrapped within sacks, enforcement chief Zulkifli Abu Bakar was quoted as saying by the Bernama news agency.

The possums, worth up to 70,000 ringgit (22,580 dollars), were believed to be bound for the local exotic pets market as well as for export to neighbouring South-East Asian countries, he said.

Officers also detained the boat's 44-year-old skipper and his 36-year-old crewman.

The sugar glider possum is a small gliding marsupial native to Tasmania, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.

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