On 31 May 2024, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) arrested a Senior Customs Officer in connection with the seizure of 1.8 tonnes of pangolin scales in July 2023.
The officer in question was formally charged with misappropriation of property. This arrest brings the total number of individuals arrested as part of this investigation to 12, including three Customs officers and the alleged ‘mastermind’ behind the criminal network.
In July 2023, acting on intelligence provided by the Wildlife Justice Commission, MACC raided a warehouse at Port Klang Selangor and seized 1.8 tonnes of pangolin scales. The Wildlife Justice Commission supported MACC in this operation targeting corrupt customs and other members of an international wildlife trafficking network , with additional support from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Thailand. The syndicate is believed to have bribed law enforcement officers (customs officers and freight forwarders) to allow them to take wildlife contraband meant for disposal from a Customs Department warehouse and sell them after faking its destruction. The syndicate is also believed to be involved in money laundering.
In the July 2023 operation, 11 suspects, including two customs officers, were arrested and questioned. Approximately 1.8 tonnes of pangolin scales were seized, along with several luxury vehicles with an estimated value of over 5 million USD.
The arrest underscored MACC’s unwavering commitment to identifying and arresting high-level criminal orchestrators, not just the operatives. MACC’s swift response to the Wildlife Justice Commission’s intelligence and thorough post-raid investigations demonstrated a strong commitment to combatting wildlife crime and corruption in Malaysia.
La Comisión de Justicia para la Vida Silvestre felicita a la MACC por su compromiso en la lucha contra la corrupción y su rápida actuación ante información de inteligencia urgente. Esta operación coincide plenamente con las conclusiones de nuestro informe de 2023, « Dinero sucio: El papel de la corrupción en la facilitación de los delitos contra la vida silvestre », que subraya la corrupción como factor clave para el tráfico de especies silvestres. El éxito de esta operación demuestra la importancia crucial de la colaboración internacional para abordar las prácticas corruptas, tanto en el sector público como en el privado, que permiten y perpetúan los delitos contra la vida silvestre.
