Kuala Lumpur, 22nd September 2025 - Malaysia is in the crosshairs of organised, cross-border poaching syndicates fuelled by “serious money”, police have warned.
Director of Internal Security and Public Order Department, CP Dato' Sri Azmi Abu Kassim, whose unit spearheads the fight against wildlife crime said, these syndicates leverage strong local networks - Malaysians who provide supplies, transport and insider knowledge of the terrain.
Probes into the discoveries of animals, alive or dead - as in the recent case of a tiger carcass found in the boot of a car often uncover links to organised crime networks traced to the Indochina region.
“They collect the animals and funnel them to traffickers who already use the same routes for drugs and arms,” Dato' Sri Azmi told the New Straits Times, adding that local hunters were tasked with finding the highly sought after wildlife.
He said some poachers were based in neighbouring countries but relied heavily on Malaysians for logistics, while others were home-grown operators poaching for bushmeat or the pet trade.
Dato' Sri Azmi said last year, police, through various agencies including the Wildlife Crime Bureau/Special Investigations and Intelligence, General Operations Force, Marine Police and Federal Reserve Unit solved 203 cases.
These cases saw the arrests of 228 suspects and seized assets worth more than RM24 million.
Up to last month, authorities have recorded 186 cases, arrested 201 people and seized assets valued at RM149 million - a staggering six-fold increase in value compared to last year.
Read further on New Straits Times' article attached.
