Eight Myanmar nationals arrested in Kelantan wildlife poaching raid

Just one day after a Malayan tiger crossed the Sungai Relai Bridge in Gua Musang, Perhilitan struck back against wildlife crime in the same state. Working on a tip-off, police and the Wildlife and National Parks Department jointly raided a 24-hectare durian plantation in Kampung Mia, Kuala Krai on Wednesday, 10 June.

The operation netted eight Myanmar nationals and a haul of seized weapons and wildlife parts. Kuala Krai OCPD Supt Mazlan Mamat confirmed the arrests in a statement released on Wednesday.

Dawn raid turns up weapons, wildlife parts, and two babies

Authorities ran Ops Bersepadu/Ops Khazanah from midnight until 6am. The group included six men and two women. Notably, officers also found a baby boy and a baby girl with the group.

Officers seized an air rifle and two spears from the suspects. Both weapons are believed to have served as hunting tools. Beyond the weapons, inspections turned up six suspected animal claws, 12 suspected animal fangs, and seven suspected animal bones. Officers also found six suspected animal body parts and a container of meat they believe came from wildlife.

Investigators are now pursuing the case under four laws: the Immigration Act 1959/63, the Arms Act 1960, the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act 1958, and the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010.

Supt Mazlan credited the result to strategic cooperation between police and Perhilitan. He also highlighted the role of public tip-offs.

“Stern action will continue against anyone involved in wildlife-related offences,” he said. He urged Malaysians to keep reporting information to the authorities.

What Is Ops Bersepadu Khazanah?

The operation behind Wednesday’s raid is not a one-off response. Ops Bersepadu Khazanah — or OBK — is Malaysia’s flagship multi-agency anti-poaching initiative. It has run continuously since September 2019.

OBK brings together Perhilitan, the Royal Malaysia Police, Customs, Forestry, and Immigration departments, state agencies, and conservation NGOs. As of mid-2025, the operation had made seizures worth over RM39.3 million and resulted in 1,089 arrests across 778 cases.

Moreover, OBK has evolved well beyond boots on the ground. It now uses artificial intelligence and behavioural profiling as enforcement tools. Authorities have traced most seized wildlife and forest products to buyers in China, Vietnam, and India.

Foreign nationals appearing in poaching cases is a pattern that OBK has consistently uncovered. In a previous Endau-Rompin operation, Police Commissioner Dato’ Tajudin Md Isa noted that such arrests “highlight the international links associated with poaching.”

He added that cooperation across agencies — including Immigration — is essential to keeping Malaysia’s wildlife within its own borders.

Kelantan’s forests are on the front line

Kuala Krai sits on the edge of one of Malaysia’s most threatened forest corridors. Its forests connect directly to Taman Negara — the last stronghold for the critically endangered Malayan tiger.

Meanwhile, analysis by wildlife trade monitoring group TRAFFIC found at least 28 seizure incidents within 30 kilometres of Taman Negara between 2019 and 2024. Sun bears, leopards, and pangolins topped the list of most-seized species by volume.

In addition, the sheer scale of Taman Negara complicates enforcement. The forest complex is nearly four times the size of Hong Kong.

Wildlife Conservation Society Malaysia has described the challenge plainly: “Catching poachers in the dense rainforest is like looking for a needle in a haystack.”

As a result, Perhilitan has intensified targeted operations across known poaching hotspots. The Malayan tiger, leopard, sun bear, and elephant remain the most at-risk species — each commanding high prices in illegal black markets.

A wider pattern of wildlife crime

Wednesday’s arrest in Kelantan follows a series of major enforcement actions across Malaysia. In April 2026, a Vietnamese national pleaded guilty in Johor Bahru to possessing over 1,000 python bile and 191 python tongues.

That seizure, valued at RM36.8 million, also included suspected tiger parts and bear bile linked to the international illegal wildlife trade.

Furthermore, only an estimated 150 Malayan tigers remain in the wild. Every poaching arrest matters — but so does every public tip that triggers one.

If you have information on wildlife crime, report it to Perhilitan at 1-800-88-5151.