Sabah Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga said the suspects, a man and a woman both aged 42, were arrested at about 1pm near a car park while trying to sell the endangered animal to a “customer”.
Acting on a tip-off from the public, an enforcement team from the department supported by members of the wildlife rescue unit, were despatched to the location where a transaction was supposed to take place.
The pangolin was found in a plastic sack placed at the back seat of the woman’s Proton Persona car.
According to the information received from the public, the man had offered to sell the pangolin through social media, Tuuga said.
He and the woman were trying to sell the live creature, which weighed 4kg, at RM220 per kg, Tuuga said.
The pangolin is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as being under the threat of extinction.
On Oct 26, two men aged 25 and 27 were also arrested for selling pangolins in Papar town about 30km away, Tuuga added.
The suspects in both cases were detained for investigation under Section 41(2) of the Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997 for illegal possession of a protected species, which carries a minimum fine of between RM30,0000 and RM100,000 or a jail term from one to three years, or both, upon conviction.