Ex-Police Officer Sentenced To Almost 16 Years In Prison After Trafficking 81 Critically Endangered Pangolins In Malaysia

Nearly six years after being caught with the illegal possession of 81 pangolins, a former police officer has received one of the longest jail sentences Malaysia has imposed for a crime involving the world’s most trafficked mammal.

Mohd Sharwandy Sollahudin, arrested in August 2018, was sentenced last month to a total of 15 years and 9 months in prison on four charges, including the illegal possession of juvenile and female pangolins under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010.

However, he is expected to serve only six and a half years, as Alor Setar Sessions Court Judge Rohatul Akmar Abdullah ordered that the jail terms for the four separate charges run simultaneously.

The sentence is especially significant because no fines were issued, making this a hard-hitting prison-only punishment. The jail terms issued exceed half the maximum term allowed for each of the four charges.

“A sentence like this is important because wildlife criminals must understand there is more than a slap on the wrist awaiting those who traffic wildlife,” said Datuk Abdul Kadir Abu Hashim, director General of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia (PERHILITAN), the agency responsible for Sharwandy’s arrest and successful prosecution. “Pangolins are highly priced in the black market and the cost to traffickers must also be equally high in order to dissuade them.”

Pangolins are endangered due to poaching and habitat loss. They are heavily trafficked for their scales, which are used in traditional medicine, and their meat is considered a delicacy. Despite international protections, illegal hunting persists. Additionally, deforestation and land conversion for agriculture and urban development reduce their natural habitats, making survival more difficult.

Sharwandy’s case follows several arrests of other enforcement officers involved in pangolin smuggling who also work in the state of Kedah. This state lies in the north of Peninsular Malaysia bordering Thailand and frequently witnesses wildlife smuggling attempts.

One former policeman was arrested and jailed for illegal possession and cruelty toward pangolins in 2012. He was arrested again on the similar charge in 2014 near the Malaysia-Thailand border checkpoint at Bukit Kayu Hitam in Kedah.

In 2018, a retired army serviceman was stopped in the same area with 56 pangolins in the trunk of his car. While in 2019, a Malaysian policeman was caught by Royal Thai Customs officers at a border checkpoint in Thailand with 47 pangolins in his car.

The former policeman’s trial also spotlights the continued pressure on Critically Endangered Sunda Pangolins in the wild, with TRAFFIC data showing more than 80 incidents involving over 2,500 Sunda pangolins seized in Malaysia from 2014 to 2023.

More than two-thirds of the pangolins in Sharwandy’s possession were either female or juvenile animals, which underscored the impact his smuggling attempt would have had on the species. Sunda Pangolins mate once a year, usually producing just one offspring.

“This might be just one case in one country, but a critical court decision like this is one way we can effectively portray the severity of the situation facing pangolins,” said Kanitha Krishnasamy, Director for TRAFFIC in Southeast Asia.