Back in March, local police in Gia Lai Province uncovered a major black-shanked douc langur trafficking case. Drawing on intelligence, they intercepted a suspicious car on the way from Dak Lak province to Kon Tum province and found 26 frozen black-shanked douc langurs and 82 dried skeletons of the same species. The men in the car were arrested and the goods were confiscated for further investigation.
After three months’ investigation and a trial, the driver was sentenced to 32 months’ imprisonment and the other man was sentenced to 26 months’ suspended imprisonment and 43 months’ probation. All the confiscated goods were incinerated.
Local authorities showed swift action and strong cooperation on the investigation and trial for this case. Let’s hope the severe punishments for these major crimes will discourage others from participating in wildlife trafficking.
The endangered black-shanked douc (Pygathrix nigripes) is found only in eastern Cambodia and southwestern Vietnam. It is protected under Appendix I (CITES) and Group IB of Decree 32/2006/ND-CP (Vietnamese law). Due to rapid human population growth, the species has now lost 80 per cent of its historical forest cover.
Photo courtesy of Chu Pah Police
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