{"id":372492,"date":"2026-03-30T05:41:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T05:41:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/372492\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T05:41:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T05:41:16","slug":"singapore-seizes-record-asian-pangolin-scales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/372492\/","title":{"rendered":"Singapore seizes record Asian pangolin scales"},"content":{"rendered":"

Singapore has seized over 830 kilograms of Asian pangolin scales hidden in a shipment bound for Cambodia, authorities said Saturday, calling it the largest haul of its kind discovered in the city-state.<\/p>\n

\"ThisThis undated handout received on March 28, 2026 from Singapore\u2019s National Parks Board and Immigration and Checkpoints Authority shows pangolin scales being examined following their seizure in Singapore on December 29, 2025. Photo: AFP\/ Singapore\u2019s National Parks Board and Immigration & Checkpoints Authority.<\/p>\n

Falsely declared as \u201cdried fish skin\u201d, the scales \u2014 estimated to be from more than 2,200 pangolins \u2014 were found in 30 bags on December 29 after officials intercepted an inbound lorry carrying sea cargo, Singapore\u2019s National Parks Board said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The announcement came as Singapore released a report Saturday on the nation\u2019s role in tackling illegal wildlife trade in the shipping sector.<\/p>\n

\u201cBased on preliminary investigations, the cargo was transiting through Singapore en route from Indonesia to Cambodia,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis marks the largest seizure of Asian pangolin scales in Singapore to date,\u201d it added, noting that investigations are ongoing.<\/p>\n

The scales were identified as belonging to Sunda pangolins, a critically endangered species native to Southeast Asia, including Singapore.<\/p>\n

\"singapore\"Singapore. File photo: Pixabay.<\/p>\n

Pangolins are protected under the wildlife protection treaty CITES, to which Singapore is a signatory.<\/p>\n

\u201cSingapore adopts a zero-tolerance stance on the illegal trade of endangered wildlife species, and their parts and derivatives,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n

Pangolins are among the world\u2019s most endangered species, and their scales are prized in countries like China and Vietnam where they are used in traditional medicine as remedy for various ailments.<\/p>\n

Their scales are similar in constitution to fingernails and provide no scientifically proven medicinal benefit.<\/p>\n

Under Singaporean law, those found guilty of trading in protected species without a valid CITES permit face a fine of up to S$200,000 ($154,702) per specimen (not exceeding S$1 million or the market value of the items) and up to eight years in prison.<\/p>\n

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Type of Story: News Service<\/p>\n

Produced externally by an organization we trust to adhere to high journalistic standards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Singapore has seized over 830 kilograms of Asian pangolin scales hidden in a shipment bound for Cambodia, authorities…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":372493,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[1441,61,60,43458,82,9458,263],"class_list":["post-372492","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-afp","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-pangolin","tag-science","tag-singapore","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=372492"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372492\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/372493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=372492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=372492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=372492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}