Reptiles in papayas

GEORGE TOWN: A shipment declared as papayas was found to contain hundreds of cobras and freshwater turtles worth some RM110,000 meant for the cooking pot in Hong Kong.

The animals were rescued by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) in a joint raid with the Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services at the KL Airport Services local cargo complex in Batu Maung near here.

Penang Perhilitan director Jamalun Nasir Ibrahim said the 555 cobras and 171 turtles were found inside 80 polystyrene boxes which were kept among 100 boxes of papayas in a container.

The shipment, he said, was declared as papayas bound for Hong Kong.

He said the driver of the lorry transporting the container was arrested during the raid around 4.30am on Wednesday.

“We arrested the driver, who is in his 40s, to facilitate investigations to track down the mastermind,” Jamalun said yesterday.

He believed a syndicate was behind the smuggling of the giant Asian pond turtles (Heosemys grandis) and the monocellate cobra (Naja kaouthia).

“We believe the animals were to be smuggled out to meet the demand for exotic animal dishes,” he added.

Jamalun said the cobras could fetch RM200 each for the bigger ones and about RM800 each for smaller ones while the turtles cost about RM200 each.

Both species, he said, were listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, which meant that trading in them was only permitted with an export permit and certificate of origin.

Based on the shipment's documentation, he said, the papayas were harvested from a farm in Kedah.

Jamalun said the case was being investigated under Section 10 of the International Trade in Endangered Species Act that carries a fine of not more than RM100,000 for each animal but not more than RM1mil in aggregate, or a maximum seven-year jail term or both.