Malaysia seizes $18 million worth of animal parts

Malaysian customs officials said on Monday they had seized an $18 million stash of rare animal parts believed to have originated in Africa, including elephant tusks, rhino horns and pangolin scales.

The Southeast Asian nation is a hub for the wildlife trade, with animal parts shipped across the country to lucrative regional markets.

Authorities foiled a smuggling attempt on July 10 when they discovered the illegal cargo hidden in a shipping container along with timber in Port Klang on Malaysia’s west coast.

The shipment included an estimated 6,000 kilograms (13,200 pounds) of elephant tusks – Malaysia’s largest single seizure of elephant ivory, Customs Superintendent Zazuli Johan said.

There were also 29 kilograms of rhino horns, 100 kilograms of pangolin scales and 300 kilograms of animal skulls and other bones, he told a news conference.

The confiscation was valued at an estimated 80 million ringgit ($18 million), he said, adding that it was believed to have come from Africa, without giving further details.

Zazuli said Malaysia was not the final destination of the shipment but did not say where it was going.

Animal parts such as elephant tusks and pangolin scales are popular in countries where they are used in traditional medicine, including China and Vietnam.

There were no arrests as a result of the confiscation.

Kanitha Krishnasamy – Southeast Asia director of wildlife trade monitoring group Traffic – welcomed the “substantial confiscation”.

“This mixture of endangered species in a single bout is worrying and certainly confirms suspicions that criminals continue to use Malaysian ports to transport smuggled wildlife,” she said.