Malaysia not deterring smugglers

PETALING JAYA: Despite nine high-profile ivory seizures worth millions of ringgit since 2011, Malaysian authorities have yet to make any significant arrests that will help stamp out our reputation as a transit country for the illegal ivory trade.

According to Dr Chris Shepherd, regional director of wildlife trade monitoring network Traffic South-East Asia, intelligence-led investigations to break down the wildlife crime networks here are still not seen as a priority nor carried out to their fullest extent.