The traumatic journey of a trafficked pangolin always begins with its capture by human hunters.
Hunters usually catch them in the forest or nearby plantation areas.
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The hunter sells the pangolin to a middleman, who sells it on to criminal syndicates.
Pangolins are also smuggled into the country from abroad. Live pangolins are typically smuggled from across the Melaka Straits, or from Kalimantan to Sabah and Sarawak.
The pangolins are sent to a collection point, where they will meet many other trafficked pangolins.
In Peninsular Malaysia, the pangolins are transported by land to the northern border, usually in passenger cars.
The border police is often involved in the smuggling syndicate, and allows the smuggled pangolins to pass.
The pangolins are usually transported to Laos, then on to Vietnam and China.
In East Malaysia, pangolins are known to be shipped to Vietnam or China from Sabah.
Pangolin scales from African countries are also known to transit in Malaysia, enroute to high-demand markets like China and Vietnam. These have been known to arrive via air or sea cargo.
Data collected by R.AGE show that since 2011, 21,174 pangolins have been seized where Malaysia was either a source or transit country.
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