As 2007 draws to a close and Tet (Lunar New Year) approaches, conservation agencies are stepping up efforts to combat illegal trafficking in endangered species.

The Ho Chi Minh City Environmental Police Department, working alongside the Forest Protection Department, recently smashed a smuggling ring in the province of Ha Tinh. Among the animals found in their possession were a tiger and a 30 kilogramme bear thought to be destined for a dinner table.

One of the smugglers, Nguyen Dinh Nam, said he had bought the animals from wildlife dealers at Cau Treo Border Gate in Ha Tinh, on the Laos border.

Nguyen Huu Hung, head of the Forestry Department’s legislation division, said the gang’s leader was Nguyen Tri Dung, 26, from Binh Phuoc province. He said the gang had been caught trying to smuggle some 210 kilogrammes of rare animal meat.

This year, the City’s Forest Protection Department has uncovered 38 cases of illegal trafficking involving some 503 endangered animals and 3,640 kilogrammes of exotic animal meat. Among the animals seized were snakes, lizards, long-tailed monkeys, tigers and bears worth hundreds of millions dong.

Hung added that smuggling gangs were only too willing to use intimidation and violence, and that there had been instances of attacks on police officers. (VNA)