Police in Dong Nai City have arrested a man accused of illegally hunting a protected pangolin inside the Dong Nai Nature and Cultural Reserve.
Authorities announced on July 20 that Luu Duc Nang, 46, from Tri An Ward, had been formally charged and placed in pre-trial detention on suspicion of violating regulations on the protection of endangered, precious and rare wildlife.
According to investigators, at around midday on July 7, officers from Dong Nai City Police, working with forest rangers from the Dong Nai Nature and Cultural Reserve, were conducting a routine forest patrol when they caught Nang allegedly hunting a pangolin.
At the scene, authorities seized the pangolin together with the hunting tools and equipment allegedly used by the suspect.
An assessment by the Dong Nai City Department of Agriculture and Environment confirmed that the pangolin belongs to a protected endangered species that receives the highest level of legal protection under Vietnamese law.
Police said the investigation is continuing as officers gather further evidence and complete legal proceedings against the suspect.