RM7.2 million of elephant tusks seized

SEPANG: A total of 846.2kg of elephant tusks worth about RM7.2 million was seized at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) on Jan 1.
KLIA Customs Department director Datuk Hamzah Sundang said acting on a tip off, an enforcement team conducted an inspection at the air cargo warehouse at 5.45pm on New Year's Day.
Speaking to the media at the KLIA Customs office here today, he said the enforcement team found 17 boxes containing 254 units of elephant tusks.
Hamzah said the boxes arrived through the Turkish Airlines from Kinshasa International Airport, Democratic Republic of the Congo which transited in Istanbul's Ataturk Aiport before arriving in KLIA.
He added that preliminary investigations found that the ivory were labeled as "Wood Samples" in the air waybill and the addresses were fake.
Hamzah said the goods were meant for the Malaysian market.
"Investigations are on going as of now and no suspects have been arrested yet," he said.
The department is also in the midst of tracing the sender and origin of the ivory and the case is being investigated under Section 135(1)(a) of the Customs Act 1967.
Ivory is a prohibited item under the International Trade in Endangered Species Act 2008 and Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, and a permit is required to import such items.
Last year, the Customs department recorded nine cases amounting to RM10.9 million while five cases were reported in 2015 amounting to RM2.3 million.