KLANG: The Malaysian Border Control and Protection (AKPS) has seized two containers full of illegal frozen pork worth more than RM650,000.
Its director-general Comm Datuk Seri Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said the seizure was made on Jan 20.
“We seized two containers full of frozen pork weighing around 49972.74kg with an estimated value of RM660,137. The pork originated from Spain, a country from which pork imports are prohibited.
“It was found that the import permit had also expired, so enforcement action was taken,” he said in a press conference at Port Klang here Thursday (Jan 22).
Comm Shuhaily added that this was the second successful seizure within the week, following a similar case on Jan 14.
“The same team seized pork from Belgium. While imports from Belgium are allowed, its documentation was incomplete.
“In total, we have seized over RM1mil worth of illegal pork,” he added.
He said the upcoming Chinese New Year could be contributing to the increase in pork imports.
“There is market demand and, perhaps because of that, we have seen an increase,” he said.
He also reminded the public that pork imports from 14 countries are prohibited due to the risk of African Swine Fever.
“While I have been informed that it cannot spread to humans, it can infect other livestock such as cows and chickens.
“Those with information on illegal pork imports are urged to contact the authorities,” he said.
Comm Shuhaily said a court order would be obtained to dispose of the seized goods if no one comes forward to claim them.
“It will go through the normal disposal process. We will see if the importer comes forward but I doubt it because it has no permits,” he said.
