Kota Kinabalu: The Royal Malaysian Police have established the Wildlife Crime Bureau (WCB) to preserve what’s left of the nation’s flora and fauna from further extinction.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Acryl Sani said WCB, based at their Bukit Aman headquarters, was made official mid-July.
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“A total of 50 posts were created to enforce the illegal trade of protected species all over the country. This is to ensure that no cases get off the hook so easily.
“We have also set a standard operating procedure integrated with the Wildlife Department and the Customs Department through ‘Operasi Bersepadu Khazanah’ (OBK).
“Ordinances for Sabah and Sarawak differ from Acts applied in peninsula but work structure is uniform in all agencies involved,” he told reporters at Sutera Harbour, here, Thursday.
He said the teamwork would boost efficiency while the trio are open to help from non-governmental organisations.
Acryl said the OBK taskforce since kicking off in 2019 has created a positive impact on the Malaysian wildlife conservation. According to him, the number of cases (30) in 2021 doubled to 60 in 2022 with the arrests of 29 and 97 individuals, respectively.
The estimated value in seizures made a 600 per cent jump from RM537,490 to RM3,831,987.
“It is hoped the WCB will highlight to all parties that environmental crimes deserve the same attention as conventional ones.
“This requires proactive enforcement in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals under the universal 2030 Agenda,” he said.
