PORT DICKSON: A total of 2.8 tonne of pangolin scales worth RM36.62 million were incinerated by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia (Perhilitan) at the Pusat Kualiti Alam here.
Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Dr Xavier Jayakumar said all the scales were confiscated in operations conducted by the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (JKDM) since last year.
He said 407kg of scales were seized at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in May, 2017 while 2.1 tonne were seized at the West Port, Port Klang in Selangor, in September.
“In addition to that, a total of 291kg of scales were also confiscated through other operations in July last year.
“Based on investigations, we found that Malaysia has become a transit for the trafficking of these scales before they were sent to Hong Kong, China and Vietnam,” he said at a press conference here today.
Also present was Perhilitan director Datuk Abdul Kadir Abu Hashim.
Dr Xavier said the pangolin scales were brought in from South Africa, Ghana and Cameroon for overseas market.
“We already informed the authorities of the pangolins’ countries of origin to ask for their cooperation to detect this illegal export,” he said.
Dr Xavier also said that they received a court order to dispose of the scales under Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 by incinerating them to ensure they never return to black markets.
The ministry would also work closely with Perhilitan and JKDM to curb wildlife trafficking.
In another development, he said a total of 70 illegal hunters have been charged in court since 2013.