The alarming rise in wildlife smuggled through Kuala Lumpur airports to India calls for more surveillance and joint investigations, writes wildlife trade expert Kanitha Krishnasamy.

IN MARCH, 4 gibbons found nowhere else in the world except Borneo were discovered in the luggage of passengers who flew into Chennai from Kuala Lumpur. For 2 of these Endangered Eastern Grey Gibbons, the rescue came too late – they had died by the time they were found.

This kind of smuggling from both terminals of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to various locations in India has been persistent, frequent, sometimes in large quantities and involving a wide variety of species.

(Feature image: From monkeys to tortoises, smugglers are using Malaysian and Indian airports to smuggle wildlife  | Composite image of posts in TRAFFIC Southeast Asia Facebook)