Perhilitan to probe monitor lizard smuggling case

KUALA LUMPUR: The Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) has yet to receive any reports on the smuggling of two monitor lizards by a passenger travelling from Malaysia to India.
Perhilitan director-general Datuk Abdul Kadir Abu Hashim said the department would maintain close coordination with the Indian authorities.
"We will conduct a thorough investigation and coordinate with airport authorities, as well as collaborate with the police's Wildlife Crime Bureau.
"We will contact the Indian authorities through Interpol National Central Bureau Kuala Lumpur to gather further information on the case," he told the New Straits Times today.
Indian customs officials intercepted a passenger arriving at Tiruchirappalli International Airport from Kuala Lumpur with two monitor lizards hidden in his checked baggage.
Photos released by authorities showed the two reptiles with their mouths and limbs tightly bound and wrapped in black cloth.

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