KOTA KINABALU: Transboundary law enforcement against wildlife trafficking networks are expected to be improved with the recent joint training initiative between Malaysia and Indonesia conducted in Tawau.
The five-day specialised bilateral training programme was designed to intercept and dismantle sophisticated transnational wildlife trafficking rings operating across the Borneo landscape.
The Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) which led the training, alongside the managing agency Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC), said this transboundary wildlife trafficking investigations training addresses the critical need for unified cross-border enforcement.
This is because both nations continue to serve as vital source, transit, and destination hubs within South-East Asia’s illegal wildlife trade networks, it said in a statement on Thursday (July 9).
It said that trafficking syndicates frequently exploit porous geographic boundaries and complex maritime and land routes to move protected species and their derivatives across international jurisdictions.
The SWD said the specialised training brought together frontline law enforcement officers from Sabah, Malaysia, and North Kalimantan, Indonesia.
Rather than focusing on abstract concepts, the sessions targeted real-world smuggling methodologies and current concealment techniques used along the Indonesia–Malaysia trade routes, it said.
Historically, these barriers have included limited real-time intelligence exchange, differing national investigative standards, and a lack of a shared protocol for sophisticated undercover actions, it added.
Over the five days, officers built advanced competencies in controlled delivery operations, covert surveillance and technical tracking, tactical search procedures, crime scene and informant management, as well as actionable intelligence gathering.
The training culminated in a comprehensive, full-day cross-border investigative simulation.
“Between Sabah and Kalimantan, organised transnational syndicates exploit the large border areas and maritime and land routes to smuggle wildlife and their derivatives to supply lucrative black markets,” said Dr Milena Salgado-Lynn who is Sabah's Harmonised Intelligence, Enforcement and Legal Defence Against Wildlife Crimes (SHIELD) Project Coordinator Co-from DGFC.
She added that key targets include protected species such as pangolins, Bornean elephants, sun bears, and sea turtles, among many others.
“Therefore, cross-border cooperation between Malaysian and Indonesian law enforcement agencies is essential to identify, disrupt, and dismantle transnational criminal groups operating between the two countries,” she said.
During the closing ceremony, SWD director Mohd Soffian Abu Bakar extended his appreciation to all participating agencies and officers, praising their immense commitment and cooperation.
He said this initiative serves as a critical foundation for protecting this region’s irreplaceable biodiversity heritage from severe threats posed by international organised criminal syndicates.
The programme is supported by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Malaysia and WWF Indonesia, under the SHIELD programme, which is funded by the United States Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).
