Lifting the lid on Malaysia’s role in trafficking

Kudos to the MACC: Pangolin scales seized during a recent raid by MACC in Port Klang. Current investigations will shed light on Malaysia’s role in the smuggling of pangolins. — AZMAN GHANI/The Star

TRAFFIC congratulates the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on busting an international syndicate smuggling pangolin scales that was operating from Malaysia, and the multiple arrests reported so far.

Since 2013, Malaysian authorities have confiscated an estimated 55 tonnes of Asian and African pangolins (dead and alive) and their parts. About 45% were pangolin scales. The largest seizure – about 29 tonnes – was in 2019 in a warehouse in Sabah.