Former police officer jailed for illegal possession of critically endangered pangolins
Nearly six years after being caught illegally possessing 81 pangolins in Malaysia, a former police officer has received one of the longest prison sentences for a crime involving the world's most trafficked animal.
A former Malaysian police officer has been sentenced to 15 years and nine months for the illegal possession of juvenile and female pangolins.
This landmark ruling is one of the longest jail terms the country handed down for a crime involving pangolins, the world’s most trafficked mammal.
Mohd Sharwandy Sollahudin was arrested in August 2018 after he was found to be in the illegal possession of 81 pangolins. Almost six years later, he has been found guilty on four separate charges, including the violation of the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010.
As the jail terms for the four individual charges will run concurrently, Sharwandy is expected to serve six and a half years of his sentence.
More than two-thirds of the pangolins in Sharwandy’s possession were either female or juveniles, highlighting the severe impact his smuggling attempt could have had on the species. Sunda pangolins mate once a year, typically producing only one offspring.
According to Traffic, an organization that fights the illegal trade of wild species, this ruling is significant because it is a prison-only sentence with no fines imposed. The jail terms issued also 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 prosecution. “Pangolins are highly priced in the black market and the cost to traffickers must also be equally high in order to dissuade them.”
A pangolin rescued by Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT). Photo: Amy Jones/WFFT
The case shines a spotlight on the ongoing issues in the state of Kedah, located in the north of Peninsular Malaysia bordering Thailand. Known to be a hub for wildlife trafficking there have been multiple other arrests in the area for pangolin smuggling involving other law enforcement officers.
Another former police officer was arrested and jailed in 2012 for the illegal possession and cruelty towards pangolins. He was arrested again in 2014 near the Malaysia-Thailand border checkpoint at Bukit Kayu Hitam in Kedah on a similar charge. A retired army serviceman was caught in the same area with 56 pangolins in the trunk of his car in 2018.
A Malaysian police officer was caught by Royal Thai Customs officers at a border checkpoint in Thailand with 47 pangolins in his car in 2019.
“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.
With illegal wildlife trafficking worth up to $23bn per year, it is the fourth most lucrative global crime after drugs, humans, and arms.
Sunda pangolins are listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with the species being illegally poached to extinction due to demand for their meat and scales.
TRAFFIC data shows that between 2014 to 2023, over 2,500 Sunda pangolins were seized in Malaysia in more than 80 incidents.
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