KUALA LUMPUR – An enforcement officer allegedly involved with a syndicate smuggling international pangolin scales through the country’s entry points is expected to be dragged to court tomorrow.
Sources said the officer is expected to be charged at the Shah Alam sessions court, Selangor.
The suspect is believed to be an enforcement officer who was previously detained in a special operation, Op Jaguar, conducted by the Anti-Money Laundering Prevention Division (AML) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) around the middle of last year.
The source said the male suspect, in his 50s, is suspected of accepting bribes from the syndicate in order to not hand over seized pangolin scales to the Wildlife Department.
“The suspect is believed to have failed to hand over the pangolin scales weighing an estimated 1.8 tonnes, which were confiscated goods of the Royal Malaysian Customs Department for the Wildlife Department to dispose of.
The source said the suspect committed the act between September and December 2019 from the Enforcement Storage of the Marine Base, North Port in Klang.
It was previously reported that the pangolin scales were believed to have been smuggled into Malaysia as a transit point before being sent to China and other countries with high demand for the illegal goods.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Malaysia plays a role as a transit country in the trafficking and smuggling of endangered wildlife and their body parts. This involves animals such as tigers, pangolins, elephants, and turtles.
Op Jaguar, carried out in the middle of last year at premises in Klang and Kuala Lumpur, saw the MACC seize nearly two tonnes of the animal scales, which were estimated to be sold for up to RM13,000 per kg in the black market.
The items had a total estimated value of RM23.4 million.
The operation, based on information from enforcement agencies in the United States, the United Kingdom and Hong Kong, also paralysed an international pangolin scale smuggling syndicate which is believed to have bribed enforcement officers and engaged in money laundering activities.
As a result of the operation, MACC seized various luxury vehicles and froze several bank accounts worth millions of ringgit believed to be owned by the international pangolin scales smuggling and disposal syndicate.
The seizure and freezing of all these assets followed the detention of 10 individuals – comprising company owners and syndicate agents and involving Malaysian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, and Nepalese nationals – in the special operation.
Meanwhile, AML director Datuk Mohamad Zamri Zainul Abidin, when contacted, confirmed that the suspect will be charged under Section 403 of the Penal Code. – May 30, 2024