PUTRAJAYA: Officers from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) made a shocking discovery that found a complete skeleton and bones of a tiger belonging to an illegal 'poaching gang'.
The tiger is believed to have been killed before its meat was removed, while its bones were kept, allegedly for sale on the black market.
Perhilitan director-general Datuk Abdul Kadir Abu Hashim said that this find was the result of 'Operasi Bersepadu Khazanah' (OBK) involving the police Internal Security & Public Order Department and Perhilitan officers.
According to him, the operation involved two raids at two locations in Rompin, Pahang, yesterday.
"The first raid was carried out in the parking area of a premise, while the second raid was conducted at a residence in Rompin, Pahang, between 6 pm and 8.30pm yesterday.
"As a result of the operation, six suspects were arrested, suspected of being involved in the illegal wildlife trade.
"Among the arrested suspects were three Orang Asli men involved in assisting the illegal wildlife trade," he said.
Also detained were two local men in their 40s and 50s suspected of arranging the sale of wildlife to buyers.
"A local man in his 30s who was found hiding the tiger bones was also detained.
"Our team also seized a Proton Saga car, believed to be used to transport protected wildlife parts intended for sale by the syndicate," he said.
According to him, the Perhilitan officers, upon inspecting the suspect's residence, found a bag containing a tiger's skull.
"Another bag containing tiger bones was also found. The suspects are believed to have hunted or trapped the protected wildlife before collecting their bones.
"All the animal bones, the car, and smartphones seized are estimated to be worth over RM228,000," he said.
Following this, all the suspects were detained and investigated under Section 68(2)(c) of the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010/ Wildlife Conservation (Amendment) Act 2022, which, if convicted, could result in a fine of no less than RM150,000 and imprisonment for up to 15 years.
Last Tuesday, Perhilitan Pahang arrested three Cambodian men suspected of illegal wildlife hunting in the Berkelah Forest Reserve, Pahang.
The Perhilitan Special Tactical Team (Sparta) also found several snares, wildlife parts, and work tools believed to be used for extracting forest resources during the inspection of the foreign nationals' camp.