KUANTAN: The General Operations Force (GOF) arrested a man and seized 34 Blyth’s river frogs (Limnonectes blythii), a protected wildlife species, worth RM17,000 in a raid on a storage facility at Jalan Tras, Bentong, on Wednesday (July 15).
GOF Southeast Brigade Commander SAC Ahmad Radzi Hussain said the raid, conducted under Op Bersepadu Khazanah, was carried out at about 5pm by a team from the 7th Battalion Kem Bukit Galing taskforce, together with the Pahang Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan).
"The 66-year-old local man, who claimed to be the owner of the storage facility, was detained after he failed to produce a valid licence or permit to keep the species,” he said in a statement on Thursday (July 16).
Ahmad Radzi said preliminary investigations found that the frogs were believed to have been obtained from Orang Asli residents in Kampung Gebak and Kampung Gabong to be sold to buyers believed to be operators of exotic food outlets in Pahang.
"The seized animals, together with the suspect, were taken to the Bentong district police headquarters before they were handed over to Perhilitan Pahang for further investigation,” he said.
Ahmad Radzi said the GOF would continue to intensify intelligence gathering and monitoring efforts to curb the illegal possession, keeping and trading of protected wildlife without valid licences or permits, at the same time protecting the species from further exploitation.
The case is being investigated under Section 60 of the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 (Act 716). — Bernama
