Attempt to smuggle pangolin scales, birds' nest from Sibu foiled

SIBU: The Sibu branch of the Royal Malaysian Customs Department foiled an attempt to smuggle pangolin scales and raw bird's nest to Peninsular Malaysia using courier services.

State Customs director Datuk Sharifah Halimah Tuanku Taha, in a statement Tuesday (July 2), said officers at the Sibu airport cargo division had, on June 25, become suspicious of a box from a courier company.

Upon checking, it was discovered that the box contained 31.9kg of pangolin scales and 1.98kg of bird's nest with a market value of RM9,900.

She said the pangolin scales had an export value of between RM12,500 and RM20,000 per kg.

"It has become a norm for smugglers now to use postage and courier services to avoid being detected by Customs and other related agencies," she said.

However, she said the department had its own initiative in monitoring import and export activities even if post and courier services were used with inspections on consignments constantly done.

"It is an offence under the Wildlife Protection Ordinance 1998 (Sarawak)to import and export these two items and the offence can be investigated under Section 135(1)(a) of the Customs Act 1967," she said.

The department called for cooperation from the public to provide it with information on smuggling activities involving cigarettes, liquor, drugs and fireworks by either calling the department's toll free number at 1-800-88-8855, or through its website, aduan.customs.gov.my, or at the nearest Customs department office in the state.

The identity of informants is strictly confidential, Sharifah added.