Oral Answer by Ministry of National Development on investigations on seized shipments of elephant ivory and pangolin scales

Feb 18, 2020

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for National Development 
(a) how many individuals and how many organisations have been prosecuted in relation to the shipments of elephant ivory and pangolin scales seized at our border checkpoints in 2019; and 
(b) if there are none, whether an update on the investigations can be provided.

In 2019, three shipments of pangolin scales, two of which also contained elephant ivory, were seized in Singapore en route from Africa to Vietnam.  As the cases involve entities outside of Singapore, NParks has been working closely with the source and destination countries, as well as sharing information with international organisations such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and INTERPOL. 

China was established to be the intended final destination country for these shipments.  Our collaboration with China in relation to these cases has led to the arrests of 14 suspected criminals by Chinese authorities. NParks will continue to assist with international investigations into these cases.