KUALA LUMPUR: Police seized a Black-winged Kite (Elanus caeruleus) bird of prey estimated to be worth RM100,000 in a raid at Taman Sungai Kapar Indah, Kapar, Selangor.
The bird, which was suspected of being kept without a licence, was seized during Op Bersepadu Khazanah by the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) Intelligence Branch in collaboration with the Selangor Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan).
FRU commander SAC Rosli Md Yusof said a 21-year-old man was also arrested in the operation at a residence at about 9.40pm on Monday night.
“The suspect failed to produce any authorisation documents to own, keep or preserve the wildlife during the inspection.
“The seizure of this species is believed to be among the rare cases of Black-winged Kite ownership reported in wildlife enforcement operations in this country,” he said in a post on the FRU’s official Facebook page yesterday, Bernama reported.
However, he said the status of whether it was the first seizure of its kind still needed confirmation based on Perhilitan’s official records.
SAC Rosli said the case was being investigated under Section 68 of the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 (Act 716), while the suspect was released on bail to enable Perhilitan Selangor to complete the investigation.
He said the success of the operation was the result of information sharing and close cooperation between PDRM and Perhilitan in efforts to combat illegal wildlife ownership and exploitation.
