00:00The Royal Malaysian Customs Department has foiled an attempt to smuggle 100 kilograms of pangolin scales worth an estimated 1
00:10.3 million ringgit through the Sandakan Airport cargo terminal.
00:14Sabah Customs Director Dr. Ahmad Taufik Sulaiman said the scales were discovered during a routine inspection by officers from the
00:23Sandakan Customs Enforcement Division and Cargo Unit at about 2.30 p.m. on July 6.
00:30Initial investigations found the scales had been transported from Kota Kinabalu by express bus before being sent to the airport
00:39cargo facility.
00:40They were packed in black plastic bags and concealed in five polystyrene boxes weighing about 20 kilograms each.
00:48The syndicate is believed to have falsely declared the shipment as other merchandise for domestic delivery from Sandakan to Kuala
00:57Lumpur International Airport to avoid obtaining an export permit from the Sabah Wildlife Department.
01:03While pangolin scales are in demand in countries such as China, Ahmad Taufik said Customs could not confirm the shipment's
01:12intended final destination.
01:14The case is being investigated under Section 10 of the International Trade in Endangered Species Act 2008.
01:22The seized scales will be handed over to the Sabah Wildlife Department for safekeeping.
01:27Ahmad Taufik said it was Sabah Customs' first pangolin scale seizure this year and its largest since authorities seized about
01:358,000 kilograms of pangolin scales worth more than 100 million ringgit at Sepangar Port in 2017.
01:43A
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