The International Primate Protection League (IPPL) is urging the police to probe the Penang-based company that illegally imported four rare gorillas from Nigeria, which are currently in the Taiping Zoo.

"Obviously some Malaysians were involved in arranging this deal, including a company in Penang.

"We believe the Malaysian police and the Interpol should investigate this case and identify the culprits," said IPPL chairperson Shirley McGreal in an e-mail communique today.

According to The Star yesterday, the company now closed received RM240,000 from the Taiping Municipal Council for the animals.

It added that the four gorillas were brought into the country in January after disclosing false information on the official documents.

Under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites), all commercial trade involving wild-born gorillas is outlawed except in cases with a conservation agenda.

The import permit for the four gorillas fraudulently stated that they were born in captivity at Nigeria's Ibadan Zoo.

However, McGreal claimed that a Taiping Zoo member had visited Ibadan Zoo and discovered that there was only a single gorilla there, therefore rendering the possibility of breeding impossible.