KOTA KINABALU: A resort offering pangolin soup and meat for an “exquisite” experience for tourists was raided after authorities swooped in on its illegal activities.
In an integrated crackdown dubbed Ops Khazanah on Monday, Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) officers together with the police raided a resort in Semporna district after obtaining information that the operators of the resort were storing and serving this protected species.
“During the raid, a live pangolin as well as several pots containing cooked pangolin in herbal soup, were found,” said SWD director Soffian Abu Bakar in a statement yesterday.
Three suspects were also arrested to facilitate investigations under the Sabah Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997, he said.
When contacted, Soffian said that authorities were also going after the suppliers as they believed the resort owners could have worked with locals to get the pangolins.
He, however, declined to say which are the areas they were looking at, fearing losing leads and proof of crime.
He said as a totally protected species in Sabah, no one is allowed to possess, trade or consume pangolin in the state.
Those found guilty could be fined between RM50,000 and RM250,000, and jailed between one and five years, he said.
“We are taking this matter as well as any incidents of preparing protected species as exotic meals to tourists very seriously, and will take strict actions against perpetrators,” said Soffian, adding this was not the first time a resort had been implicated in serving protected species.
He said such irresponsible actions were not only illegal but would affect environmental protection initiatives while tarnishing Sabah’s image as a responsible, sustainable nature tourism destination.
