KUALA LUMPUR
(Reuters) - Malaysian authorities seized trafficked ivory tusks and pangolin
scales worth nearly $1 million over the weekend, airport customs officials
said
on Wednesday, the latest in a series of seizures in Asia of products made from
endangered animals.
Malaysia has
been singled out by conservationists as a major transit point for the illegal
trafficking of endangered species, as well as products made from them. Last
month, Hong Kong seized more than 7,200 kilograms (kg) of ivory tusks shipped
from Malaysia, the largest single seizure in 30 years.
Officials on
Sunday afternoon found 23 ivory tusks, weighing about 76 kg, in a cargo
warehouse at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), the Customs
Department's assistant director-general of enforcement, Mohammad Pudzi Man,
told reporters.
The tusks,
valued at 275,000 ringgit ($64,162), had been shipped on an Etihad Airways
flight from Lagos, Nigeria, via Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Later on
Sunday, six sacks containing 300.9 kg of pangolin scales worth 3.9 million
ringgit ($909,939), were found in the same cargo warehouse. The scales were
shipped from the Democratic Republic of Congo on Ethiopian Airlines.
Both
shipments were sent to fake addresses and their recipients could not be traced,
Mohammad Pudzi said.
It was not
clear if Malaysia was the final destination for the shipments, he said.
Multiple
wildlife seizures have been made at KLIA this year, and investigators said
airport personnel could be involved in the illegal trade.
"We
don't have proof but I believe that they (trafficking syndicates) exploit our
systems and procedures in these smuggling activities," Mohammad Pudzi
said, adding that steps were being taken to strengthen screening and
enforcement.
KLIA
officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday's
discoveries or the alleged potential involvement of airport staff.
Scales from
pangolins, the world's most poached animal, are prized in some Asian countries
for their use in traditional medicines. All eight pangolin species worldwide
are threatened with extinction.
In May,
Malaysia seized over 700 kg of pangolin scales in the largest haul seen in the
country. Wildlife experts say scales from the mammal could fetch up to 1,500
ringgit ($346) a kg on the local black market.
Globally, up
to 30,000 elephants are killed illegally every year to feed demand for expensive
ivory products in countries such as China and Hong Kong, according to WildAid,
a wildlife nongovernmental organization.
China, the
world's largest importer and end-user of ivory tusks, plans to close all its
ivory carving factories and retail stores by the end of the year.
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