PANGOLIN SCALES WORTH RM4M SEIZED
KLIA Customs foils two attempts to smuggle 337kg of the item to HK
KUALA Lumpur International Airport’s (KLIA) Customs Department has seized 337kg of smuggled pangolin scales from Sabah and Sarawak worth RM4.3 million. The pangolin scales were to be flown to Hong Kong from the KLIA mail and courier centre.
KLIA Customs director Abdul Wahabi Abdullah said his team foiled two attempts to smuggle out the pangolin scales.
KLIA Customs also seized smuggled cigarette packs from Vietnam, totalling 3.8 million sticks, with RM2.6 million in unpaid import duties.
The pangolin scales were smuggled in two batches on Nov 16 and 17.
“The first batch was on Nov 16, at 3.30pm. Our officers at the KLIA mail and courier centre seized five boxes of pangolin scales, weighing 125.46kg and worth RM1.6 million,” Wahabi said, adding that the boxes were labelled as kids’ clothes.
The second batch the next day saw a bigger haul of 211.54kg, worth RM2.7 million. The scales were packed in eight boxes labelled as filter packs.
“All the consignments were handled by Pos Aviation. The sender was local.
“We have yet to ascertain if the sender is a company or individual. But, the registered addresses are in Sabah and Sarawak,” Wahabi said.
As the case was under investigation, Wahabi declined to reveal details of the suspects. However, he believes that the perpetrators are linked to a previous case handled by his team.
“There are two or three suspects involved in the smuggling ring. We are working with the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) in investigating the matter.”
Perhilitan has yet to confirm whether the pangolins are a local species.
Pangolin scales can fetch between RM1,000 and RM1,500 per kg in the Malaysian market.
The scales, believed to be a traditional remedy for malaria and cancer, are in high demand in China and Vietnam.
The import of pangolin scales requires a special permit from Perhilitan. Under Section 135(1) (a) of the Customs Act 1967, those found guilty of illegally importing it into the country can be fined a maximum of 20 times the value of the smuggled items or face three years’ imprisonment, or both.