KUCHING, Dec 9 — The Royal Malaysian Customs Department has opened 23 investigation papers for illegal wildlife trade this year involving seizures valued at almost RM73.4 million.

Customs assistant director general (Enforcement) Ribuan Abdullah said the cases are being investigated under the Customs Act 1976 and the International Trade in Endangered Species Act 2008.

"Of the total investigation papers opened, some are awaiting further instructions from the deputy public prosecutor to be brought to court, while some cases are still in the initial investigation stage to identify the importer and also the exporter,” he told a press conference after the Operasi Bersepadu Khazanah (OBK) 2022 meeting yesterday.

Ribuan explained that the suspects who conducted the export would usually use a fake address, along with a fake recipient’s name and address.

"Based on the modus operandi identified through the previous arrests, we see foreign fishermen from China who would dock their ship in Malaysia.

"When they disembarked the ship, they would obtain wildlife or its meat to be traded in their own country by using the sea route.

"The port is supposed to be used for fish landing and so on, but it is used for wildlife smuggling instead,” he said.

On OBK 2022, Ribuan said it is one of the Customs Department’s efforts in dealing with wildlife smuggling and in ensuring that the country is not used as a transit centre for such illegal activities.

"The operation has been carried out since 2019, together with the Royal Malaysia Police, Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) and the state’s enforcement agencies,” he said, adding that Customs had handled over 15 cases of wildlife smuggling involving snakes, lizards and turtles.

Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Razarudin Husain, who was present at the press conference, said the government is determined to ensure that the country’s wildlife is protected, and had approved 50 new posts for the Wildlife Crime Bureau (WCB) this year.

"WCB consists of 16 police officers and civil servants as of now, while the remaining posts will be filled out next year and will be placed in Bukit Aman,” he said.

Also present at the press conference was Perhilitan director-general Datuk Abdul Kadir Abu Hashim. — Borneo Post Online