KOTA KINABALU: An elephant tusk, 10 live pangolins and 9kg of pangolin scales were among the illegal wildlife items seized following the arrest of a 27-year-old foreigner.
The seizure was made during an integrated operation, codenamed Ops Khazanah, near a plantation at Kampung Paris 3 in Kinabatangan, Sandakan about 8.30pm on Friday.
Sabah Wildlife Department director Mohd Soffian Abu Bakar said enforcement officials inspected the Filipino suspect and found the protected wildlife and wildlife parts in his possession.
He said investigators have yet to determine the origin of the elephant tusk, when asked if it belonged to an elephant found butchered in a forest reserve in Tongod, Sandakan last month.
“The suspect claimed he had bought the tusk from someone else, so we can’t confirm whether the tusk is from the hacked elephant as yet,” he said.
The raid was carried out with help from the police’s General Operations Force.
Mohd Soffian said the case is being investigated under the Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997.
