World News
Malaysia Seizes $3.1 Million Worth of Rhino Horns at Kuala Lumpur Airport
KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia has seized rhinoceros horns worth nearly $12 million bound for Vietnam, the Southeast Asian nation’s largest haul of such contraband, officials said on Monday.
Wildlife experts say Malaysia is a major transit point for the illegal trafficking of endangered species to other Asian countries.
Officials acting on a tip-off seized 50 horns, weighing about 116kg, at the cargo terminal of Kuala Lumpur airport on Aug 13, a wildlife official said in a statement.
The shipment also included nine carcasses of what are believed to be tigers and bears, weighing about 200kg.
“All the wildlife items confiscated were to be exported out of Malaysia without a proper permit,” Abdul Kadir Abu Hashim, the director-general of the Wildlife and National Parks Department, said in the statement.
The department will run DNA tests to identify each wildlife species involved, he added.
Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) customs director Hamzah Sundang (2nd R) poses with rhino horns that were seized on April 7 from Mozambique to Kuala Lumpur via Doha, during a news conference at the airport in Sepang, Malaysia April 10, 2017. REUTERS/Rozanna Latiff
The shipment, valued at 48 million ringgit (387 million baht or $11.7 million), was believed to have originated from Africa and was bound for Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.
Investigation showed the consignment had been shipped with false documents, and efforts were being made to identify its true owner, Abdul Kadir said.
Global trade in rhino horn is banned by a United Nations convention, but it is prized in some Asian countries as an ingredient in traditional medicines to treat everything from fever to cancer.
Last year, Malaysia seized about $3.1 million worth of rhino horns flown in from Mozambique via Qatar.
Separately, authorities arrested a man on July 13 for illegal possession of three baby Sumatran orangutans, Abdul Kadir said.
“The suspect was believed to have been trading wildlife online and was arrested while dealing with a buyer,” he said.
Malaysia will return the animals to Indonesia, he said.
Orangutans live in lowland forests on Borneo, an island shared by Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia, as well as on Indonesia’s island of Sumatra.
They are endangered, with populations declining due to rampant deforestation and hunting.
By Rozanna Latiff – Reuters
