Customs puzzled how jumbo tusk smuggled into Kalimantan

The State Customs Department has not received any information on the elephant tusk that allegedly made its way across the border to North Kalimatan via Tawau. The department said it is their normal practice to conduct detailed inspections at all times not only on suspicious containers but all luggage and items going through Customs check.

"We did not detect any elephant tusk, we will be informed if there was any," said State Customs Director Datuk Dr Janathan Kandok.

Malaysian Insight picked up the news from CNN Indonesia that a single tusk, weighing about 2.7kg and covered in a sack of fertiliser, was confiscated from a foreign worker as he entered Nunukan on July 24.

The 50-year-old man from East Nusa Tenggara allegedly told Indonesian police he bought the tusk from a Malaysian for RM1,500.

It also quoted a Sabah conservationists who claimed that the man went through proper channels, raising questions as to how enforcement officers at the Tawau checkpoint could have missed detecting the item in the man's luggage before he left the State.

In response to this, Janathan said that it is their opinion, stressing that they have not detected anything thus far. "We have not detected anything, which means the item could not have passed through legal landing place, even if they had entered the State, they would have to go through checkpoints at airports or ports, the item is too big, and surely it cannot go through without being detected.

"The tusk is big and in my opinion, how many tusks do we have in Sabah, it could perhaps be from another place and brought here.

"But whatever it is we have and will tighten our controls," he said.

Five elephant tusks seized from a woman at the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine station in Nunukan, North Kalimantan, Indonesia, in January this year.

Indonesia's news portal Kompas said a woman who claimed to be heading to Flores was halted by the country's immigration authorities in Nunukan for carrying the tusks.

The report further said the woman was released after explaining that the items do not belong to her but she was just entrusted to carry them.

The tusks were found hidden in the woman's bag as it passed through the Indonesian Customs X-ray machine with the Indonesian authorities valuing the items at RM33,000 (or Rp 100 million).

Killing elephants for their ivory is unheard of in Sabah who have previously been poisoned to death for being a "nuisance" in plantations or ended up dead after being stuck in a quarry pit at the most.

However, the grim discovery of a decapitated bull pygmy elephant in the vicinity of the Ulu Segama Forest reserve in January this year may be an indication that the world crackdown on the ivory trade lately is making poachers try their luck in Sabah.

It was learnt that a single shotgun was fired at a male jumbo at an oil palm plantation boundary next to the Ulu Segama Forest Reserve. Its trunk was chopped off, its head hacked and tusks had disappeared without a trace.

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Elephant tusks believed from Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) has contacted the Indonesian CITES Management Authority about the elephants tusks that were taken from a woman in Nunukan, North Kalimantan a week ago.

The five pieces of tusks were believed to be from Sabah, a news portal reported.

SWD director Augustine Tuuga when commenting on the report said that the department did not know exactly where the tusks came from.

It can only be ascertained when statement from the person who carried them was taken by Indonesian wildlife authorities or DNA analysis can be done and compared to the specimens of the animals killed in Sabah, he said.

“We just pray that the Indonesian wildlife authorities will conduct a thorough investigation into the case.We already contacted the Indonesian CITES Management Authority regarding the matter through the assistance of Traffic Southeast Asia. We just wait for the outcome of their investigation. They may contact us if they need our assistance,” he added.

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PROFAUNA DEMANDS THE INVESTIGATION INTO THE MISSING ELEPHANT IVORY TUSKS AND TIGER SKINS

ProFauna Indonesia, a wildlife protection society, staged a protest in Bengkulu to demand that the enforcement of the law on those involved in the illegal trade of elephant tusks and tiger skins.

Elephant ivory tusks and tiger skins kept in the custody of the Natural Resources Conservation Unit (locally known as BKSDA) in Bengkulu, Sumatra, Indonesia are believed to be stolen by dishonest officials of the department. The exhibits which have been confiscated from poachers and collected from 2002 to 2007 could fetch hundreds of millions of Indonesian Rupiahs. A pair of ivory tusks costs 300 Million Indonesian Rupiahs in the black market.

The trade of ivory tusks and tiger skins violates the 1990 wildlife law concerning the Natural Resource and Ecosystem Conservations. The perpetrators are liable to a maximum five-year prison term and a maximum 100 million rupiah-fine. The evident is being traded illegally which show the government agency’s lack of control.

Law enforcement is necessary to reduce the declining elephant and tiger population in the wild. ProFauna’s data shows that the elephant population in Bengkulu province remains at around 160 and at 2400 – 2800 in Sumatra Island.

The decreasing population is largely due to habitat loss. Many forests in Sumatra are converted into palm oil plantations and industrial woods, leaving elephants with little territory to roam and feed on. In addition, Sumatran elephants are threatened by poaching for their tusks.

Radius Nursidi, ProFauna Bengkulu representative stated, “BKSDA and the police must probe into the case and enforce laws protecting our wildlife on the perpetrators”. ProFauna demands BKSDA Bengkulu to be accountable for the stockpiles of ivories and tiger skins under their custody. ProFauna has repeatedly urged the BKSDA for an explanation, but the government agency so far has reacted declined to comment.

For further information, please contact:

Butet A. Sitohang international@profauna.org