PORT KLANG, Malaysia: Malaysian customs officials said Monday (Jul 18) they grabbed a stash associated with rare animal components worth US$18 mil thought to have come from Africa, including hippo tusks, rhino horns and pangolin scales.
The particular Southeast Asian nation is a hub designed for wildlife trafficking, with animal parts delivered through the country to lucrative regional marketplaces.
Authorities foiled a smuggling try on Jul 10 when they uncovered the illicit cargo within Port Klang, on Malaysia’s west coast, hidden in a container along with timber.
The shipment integrated an estimated 6, 000kg of elephant tusks – Malaysia’s greatest single seizure of elephant ivory, said customs department main Zazuli Johan.
There were also 29kg of rhino horns, 100kg of pangolin scales, and 300kg of animal skulls and other bones, this individual told a push conference.
The particular seizure had an estimated value of 80 million ringgit (US$18 million), he said, incorporating it was believed to have come from Africa, with out giving more details.
Zazuli said Malaysia was not the shipment’s final destination, yet did not say where it was heading.
Animal parts such as elephant tusks and pangolin scales are popular in nations where they are used in traditional medicine, which includes China and Vietnam.
There have been simply no arrests over the seizure.
Kanitha Krishnasamy – Southeast Asian countries director at animals trade monitoring team Traffic – hailed the “significant seizure”.
“This medley of threatened species in a single seizure is certainly concerning, and it definitely verifies the mistrust that criminals use Malaysian ports to advance contraband wildlife, inch she said.