Cartel sold low-grade meat, including kangaroo, as halaal

A MEAT-FRAUD scandal is roiling Malaysia after a local news outlet uncovered a cartel that allegedly bribed customs officials in order to smuggle in all kinds of meat and label it halaal, triggering outrage in the Muslim-majority country.

For more than 40 years, the conspirators allegedly bribed senior officers from several government agencies to import meat from non-halal certified abattoirs in China, Ukraine and South America, according to the New Straits Times, which first reported the story.

Some of the imports included kangaroo and horse meat, which were then mixed with and sold as halal beef.

Halaal certification confirms that products have been prepared in accordance with Islamic law, and it’s a big deal for Muslims globally and in Malaysia, where they make up about 60% of the population.

It’s also big business: the country has been trying to become a global hub for the $2.3 trillion (R34.4 trillion) international halal market. Currently it exports about $9 billion in halal-certified products including food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical products to China, Singapore, the US, Japan and elsewhere.

The news reports didn’t identify any members of the cartel by name, and one has been arrested. Police have promised a sweeping investigation that will include every part of the smuggling, storage and processing chain.

Meanwhile, a Kuala Lumpur-based traders and hawkers association asked its 6 000 members to temporarily suspend the sale of beef-based products. But Malaysia’s Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs ministry said the country’s three largest frozen meat suppliers were reliably guaranteed halal, according to state news agency Bernama.

The cartel’s operations began at abattoirs where government agency officers supervised halal standards. The officials would fraudulently certify dubious or low-grade meat products, according to the report.

Meat then entered Malaysia via ports, often avoiding inspection, then was transported to warehouses where it was mixed with halaal-certified meat and repacked with fake halaal logos.

The controversy comes at the heels of the multibillion-dollar 1MDB financial scandal that spurred court cases around the world over allegations of money-laundering, bribery, corruption and fraud, and could rattle Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s razor-thin parliamentary majority.