TAWAU: Malaysia and Indonesia have stepped up cooperation on investigation capabilities and sharing intelligence on cross-border wildlife crime.
This followed a five-day joint training programme for enforcement officers from both countries.
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The Transboundary Wildlife Trafficking Investigations Training was held at the Borneo Royale Hotel here and brought together frontline officers from Sabah and North Kalimantan, Indonesia.
The programme was led by the Sabah Wildlife Department and Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC), with support from WWF Malaysia and WWF Indonesia under Sabah’s Harmonised Intelligence, Enforcement and Legal Defence Against Wildlife Crimes (SHIELD) initiative.
The initiative was funded by the United States Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.
Officers were trained in controlled delivery operations, covert surveillance, technical tracking, tactical search procedures, crime scene and informant management and intelligence gathering.
The curriculum combined classroom instruction with tactical exercises based on real smuggling methods and concealment techniques used along trade routes between Indonesia and Malaysia.
The training ended with a full-day cross-border investigative simulation in which officers set up a joint command post, coordinated multi-agency movements, carried out mock suspect arrests, managed evidence and prepared investigation reports meeting bilateral evidentiary standards.
SHIELD Project Coordinator Dr Milena Salgado-Lynn from DGFC said organised syndicates exploit the wide border areas as well as maritime and land routes between Sabah and Kalimantan to smuggle wildlife and its derivatives into black markets.
She said protected species targeted by traffickers include pangolins, Bornean elephants, sun bears and sea turtles, adding that cooperation between Malaysian and Indonesian enforcement agencies is needed to identify and dismantle the criminal networks behind the trade.
The closing ceremony was officiated by Sabah Wildlife Director Mohd Soffian Abu Bakar, who thanked all participating agencies and officers for their commitment throughout the programme.
“This collaborative effort serves as a critical foundation for protecting our region’s biodiversity heritage from the threats posed by international organised criminal syndicates,” he said.
“Through continued cooperation, mutual trust and shared commitment, both Malaysia and Indonesia can strengthen our fight against cross-border wildlife trafficking and safeguard the rich biodiversity that we share,” he added.
