Spike in exotic animal smuggling

The Star

19-05-2025

PETALING JAYA: Economic hardship and growing online sale of wildlife through social media platforms are among key factors that have led to the increase in the smuggling of exotic animals.
As a result, Malaysia has ­inadvertently been used as a place of transit.
Referring to several latest cases, Natural Resources and Environ­mental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said the smuggling of exotic wildlife to India is driven by several factors such as a demand in certain regions in the country where wildlife is often kept as pets.
'Malaysia is one of the countries with a supply of local and exotic wildlife that attracts smugglers (main players) in India.
'Intelligence findings indicate that most exotic wildlife species are smuggled in from neighbouring countries and temporarily transited through Malaysia before being sent to destination countries such as India, Vietnam and others,' he told The Star.
Nik Nazmi said another major reason was economic hardship which has led some individuals to act as smuggling mules.
'They are enticed by rewards such as cash or travel incentives to carry wildlife in or out of the country via checked luggage.
'The smuggling activities are also rampant due to the growing online sale of wildlife through social media platforms,' he said.
The minister said among the wildlife that are commonly smuggled into India were the red-eared slider turtle or its scientific name Trachemys scripta elegans, followed by green iguana (American iguana), African spurred tortoise (Centrochelys sulcata) and green tree python (Morelia viridis).
He said primates such as the Siamang, white-handed gibbon and agile gibbon and birds such as the Bali myna are also popular among smugglers.
To address the rising number of smuggling cases to India, Nik Nazmi said the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) is working in collaboration with the police's Wildlife Crime Bureau (WCB) and Interpol.
'The police are currently conducting further investigations and uncovering wildlife smuggling activities abroad, based on recent arrest cases involving ­foreign nationals, particularly from India.
'The WCB and Interpol have also launched further investigations with assistance from the Indian authorities to uncover the smuggling crime network,' he added.
To curb smuggling activities as a whole, Nik Nazmi said Perhilitan is working with Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) and the Customs Department to combat smuggling activities at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
Other measures undertaken are the implementation of the Integrated Khazanah Operations involving multiple enforcement agencies such as the Customs Department and the aviation security division (AVSEC) of MAHB.
'There are wildlife inspection and enforcement operations conducted on passenger baggage and items entering or exiting through international departure or arrival gates at both Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 of KLIA.
'This is done in compliance with the provisions of the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 (Act 716) and the International Trade in Endangered Species Act 2008 (Act 686), alongside AVSEC,' he said.
Nik Nazmi added that joint operations by Perhilitan's K9 detection unit, particularly at Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 of KLIA and the KLIA Cargo area, are also conducted.
'Currently, the department has four detection dogs; two Belgian Malinois, one Labrador and one Dutch Shepherd.
'Last year, MAHB also supported the K9 unit by contributing two additional dogs.
'The K9 unit conducts operations nationwide at other international airports across Peninsular Malaysia,' he said.
Nik Nazmi also highlighted cooperation with other enforcement agencies at KLIA through joint and special operations such as Ops Paison, Ops Sambar, Ops Task Force Wildlife Smuggling, Ops AVSEC and Ops WCB Perhilitan.
He also shared collaboration with international agencies such as Interpol Environmental Security Programme and the World Customs Organisation in annual operations such as Operation Thunder (2020, 2021) and Operation Golden Strike (2022, 2023) to prevent more smuggling cases.