Critical threat to iconic species

THE recent raids conducted by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) in Peninsular Malaysia led to the arrest of a Vietnamese national who was found in possession of more than 200 teeth and claw parts from sun bears, claws from a Malayan tiger, and a pair of antlers from a sambar deer in Sungai Siput, Perak. He will be charged under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 (Act 716).

The arrest of this 30-year-old foreign national is not the first, as there have been previous cases reported involving Vietnamese poachers in Malaysia. In September 2016, for instance, seven Vietnamese traffickers were arrested after a joint surveillance effort by Perhilitan, Interpol and the Wildlife Justice Commission.