Malaysia: 695 elephant tusks seized in Port Klang

Teh Eng Hock The Star 6 Sep 11;

PORT KLANG: Barely two weeks after a seizure of elephant tusks worth RM2.3mil in Penang, the Customs Department here found two containers filled with 695 elephant tusks valued at RM3mil.

“The shipment was declared as recycle crush plastic' (sic) and was on transit from the Dar es Salaam port to China,” Customs assistant director-general Datuk Zainul Abidin Taib said.

Zainul said the tusks, hidden among the recycled plastic in the 20-foot containers, weighed about 2,000kg and were seized on Friday.

On Aug 19, 664 elephant tusks weighing 1,586kg were seized in Penang.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, Zainul said both shipments were from Tanzania, and had stopped for transhipment in Malaysia, with China being its final destination.

On the Port Klang seizure, he said they had sent a team to “escort” the two containers, after being tipped off by Customs officers in Penang, to the department's marine enforcement store.

A Customs team checked through the two containers and found 92 plastic bags of tusks amidst the recycled plastics.

Zainul said there was a possibility that the same syndicate was behind the Penang and Port Klang cases due to the same modus operandi.

“Investigations are ongoing. So far, no arrest has been made in both cases,” he said.

Zainul said they wanted to find out why the smugglers had chosen to transit in Malaysia instead of sailing directly to their final destination.

“Logically, it is not cost-efficient to stop for transit,” he said.

He added that the perpetrators had violated the International Trade in Endangered Species Act, which carries a fine of up to RM100,000 per animal, or a maximum of RM1mil in total.

Zainul said those with more information on smuggling activities should contact the Customs Department at 1800-88-8855.

“We want to prevent Malaysia from becoming a transit hub for illegal goods,” he said.

Last week, wildlife monitoring trade network Traffic regional director Dr William Schaedla said Malaysia had emerged as a major hub for illegal ivory trade in the past few years.

News reports have stated that at least 20 tonnes of illegal ivory have passed through Malaysian ports since 2003.

Just a week ago, 794 African ivory tusks were confiscated by Hong Kong authorities after they arrived by sea from Malaysia.

The tusks, estimated to be worth HK$13mil (RM4.97mil), were concealed in a consignment declared as non-ferrous products for factory use.

The seizure came after another report that about 1,000 elephant tusks hidden in a container of anchovies, bound for Malaysia late last month, were seized by Tanzanian authorities.

Malaysian customs foils bid to smuggle ivory worth RM3m
G. Surach The New Straits Times 5 Sep 11;

PORT KLANG: The Customs Department has foiled another attempt by an international ivory syndicate to smuggle two tonnes of elephant tusks worth RM3 million at West Port here.

Its assistant director-general Datuk Zainul Abidin Taib said following a tip-off from their Penang counterparts, the enforcement officers seized two containers on Friday.

Upon full inspection yesterday, the officers discovered 695 African elephant tusks wrapped in 92 plastic bags tucked in the middle of the plastic sacks containing used plastics.


"The goods were declared as used plastics when it was listed on the shipping bill of loading at the two containers."

He said the nation's ports were currently being used as a transit point to ship these goods from Africa to China.

"In this case, the goods had come from the port of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania and was heading to Hong Kong, China when we managed to intercept it."


Asked on the possibility of locals being involved, Zainul dismissed the suggestion, stating that the demand for ivory in the country was close to none.

"The modus operandi of the syndicate is to avoid direct shipment of these illegal goods from African ports to China which is considered risky and may lead to thorough checking by Chinese port authorities.

"By using our ports as a transit point, the Chinese authorities would not inspect the goods believing that it has gone through strict inspection here," Zainul told reporters at the Selangor Customs headquarters in North Port, near here yesterday.


Although no arrests have been made so far, Zainul said the department would be raising its efforts to curb wildlife smuggling.

"We will be fine-tuning and beefing up integration, cooperation and information networking with other national and international law enforcement agencies."

Zainul added that they were currently investigating the seizure for false declaration and smuggling while the Wildlife and National Parks Department was investigating the case under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 and the International Trade in Endangered Species Act 2008.

It was reported earlier than more than 1,000 elephant tusks were seized by local authorities when they foiled two attempts to smuggle them through Pasir Gudang and Butterworth Ports, over the past two months.

In the first case on July 8, the Wildlife and National Parks Department and Customs Department seized a container of 405 African elephant tusks declared as plywood at the Pasir Gudang Port.

The second case was on Aug 21 at Butterworth Port, where 664 African elephant tusks were discovered in a container from the United Arab Emirates.

Zainul urged the public to inform the Customs Department of any suspected smuggling activities via their toll-free line 1-800-88-8855.

Large ivory seizure in Malaysia - the third in past three months
TRAFFIC 5 Sep 11;

Malaysia, 5th September 2011—The Royal Malaysian Customs has seized two containers filled with 695 elephant tusks in the country’s largest port, bringing to three the number of large-scale seizures of ivory in the past three months.

The shipment, labeled as “recycled craft plastic” originated in Tanzania and was destined for China, said Customs assistant director-general Datuk Zainul Abidin Taib.

The tusks, weighing close to 2,000 kg were packed in gunny sacks and hidden under the plastic material, the same way it had been in the shipment seized a fortnight ago in Penang, Zainol said.

The seizure in Penang on 21st August, consisted of 664 African elephant tusks hidden in a container from the United Arab Emirates. The 1.5 tonne seizure, declared as “used plastics”, was made at the Butterworth Port, in the northwest of Peninsular Malaysia.

In an earlier seizure on 8th July, the Wildlife and National Parks Department and Customs Department seized a container of 405 African elephant tusks declared as plywood at the Pasir Gudang Port, in the southernmost state of Johor.

Speaking on the latest seizure, Zainul said it would not have been possible without information from the public.

“We hope the public will continue to co-operate with Customs and provide us with timely information,” he told TRAFFIC Southeast Asia.

No arrests have been made so far but Zainul said investigations into the three recent cases would continue.

Malaysia has come under a harsh spotlight in recent months for its role as a transshipment point in high-profile ivory seizures in Hong Kong and from Kenya and Tanzania.

“This latest in a series of major ivory seizures in Malaysia is both heartening and disappointing,” said TRAFFIC Southeast Asia Regional Director Dr William Schaedla.

“It’s heartening because it shows that the country’s authorities can and will take action on the problem. It’s disappointing because it clearly validates what TRAFFIC has been saying for some time now – Malaysia is a major transshipping country for illegal ivory.”

Schaedla congratulated the Customs Department on the successful seizures and urged continued vigilance both in Malaysia and in the region.

“Illegal wildlife trade is fluid. Now that the ivory traffickers have been caught out using some of Malaysia’s ports they are likely to move through others in an effort to keep their black market business alive.”

Malaysia Seizes More Illegal Tusks, 3,194 Nabbed in Two Weeks
Environment News Service 6 Sep 11;

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, September 6, 2011 (ENS) - Nearly 700 elephant tusks stuffed in gunny sacks and marked "recycled craft plastic" were confiscated Friday by Malaysian Customs officials at Port Klang in the state of Selangor.

Officials of the Selangor Customs Department seized the shipment following a tip from their Penang counterparts, said Datuk Zainul Abidin Taib, Royal Malaysia Customs Department assistant director-general of enforcement, at a news conference.

The 695 tusks seized weighed about 2,000 kilograms (two metric tonnes). The shipment originated in Tanzania and was destined for China, said Zainul.

The tusks were packed and hidden in the same manner as another shipment of tusks seized August 19 in Penang, he said, suggesting that the same smuggling syndicate was responsible in both cases.

The 664 African elephant tusks seized in Penang were hidden in a container from the United Arab Emirates. The 1.5 tonne seizure, declared as "used plastics," was made at the Butterworth Port, in the northwest of peninsular Malaysia.

In an earlier seizure on July 8, the Wildlife and National Parks Department and Customs Department seized a container of 405 African elephant tusks declared as plywood at the Malaysia's Pasir Gudang Port, in the southernmost state of Johor.

To date, no arrests have been made, but Zainul said investigations into all cases will continue.

Because Malaysian ports handle millions of containers each year, inspection of them all is impossible and only those identified by a tip are examined.

Commenting on the latest seizure, Zainul said it would not have been possible without information from the public. "We hope the public will continue to co-operate with Customs and provide us with timely information," he told the Southeast Asia branch of TRAFFIC, the international wildlife traffic monitoring organization.

"This latest in a series of major ivory seizures in Malaysia is both heartening and disappointing," said TRAFFIC Southeast Asia Regional Director Dr. William Schaedla.

"It's heartening because it shows that the country's authorities can and will take action on the problem," said Schaedla. "It's disappointing because it clearly validates what TRAFFIC has been saying for some time now - Malaysia is a major transshipping country for illegal ivory."

Schaedla congratulated the Customs Department on the successful seizures and urged continued vigilance in Malaysia and across the region.

"Illegal wildlife trade is fluid," he said. "Now that the ivory traffickers have been caught out using some of Malaysia's ports they are likely to move through others in an effort to keep their black market business alive."

Friday's ivory seizure was the fourth in 14 days directly linked to Malaysia; Customs officials in Malaysia, Hong Kong and Tanzania have confiscated a total of 3,194 elephant tusks in the four seizures.

On August 19, a China-bound shipment from Tanzania was seized in Malaysia with 664 elephant tusks.

On August 23, 1041 elephant tusks bound for Malaysia were seized on the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar. Two suspects were interrogated in the ongoing investigation.

Last week, officials in Hong Kong seized 794 African elephant tusks on a shipment from Malaysia. A suspect was arrested and the investigation is ongoing.

On September 2, officials in Malaysia seized 695 elephant tusks shipped in from Tanzania, bound for China.

A fifth seizure of 405 tusks on July 8 at Pasir Gudang Port brings to 3,599 the total of tusks confiscated over the past two months linked to Malaysia - representing an estimated 1,800 elephants killed for their ivory.

Two of the four shipments seized in the past two weeks originated in the Tanzanian port of Dar-Es Salaam, which was highlighted in a recent report by the Elephant Trade Information System, the world's largest database on ivory seizures, as one of "the most prominent ports of exit for ivory moving to Asian markets."

The International Fund for Animal Welfare applauded the achievements of the Malaysian and other Customs authorities but warned that the flow of illegal ivory will continue as long as prices for ivory in China remain above those seen during the elephant poaching crises of the 1970s and '80s.

"Looking at the thousands of elephant tusks seized in the last couple of weeks we must immediately ask ourselves how many tusks are slipping through the net?" said Kelvin Alie, IFAW's program director for wildlife trade.

"It seems clear that Malaysia has become a major transit point in the ivory trade but there are numerous other transit points such as Singapore or Vietnam that link the African range states being devastated by poaching with the seemingly insatiable demand of China," Alie said.

"In the end we must have a complete ban on international ivory trade to try and stop the losses amongst our elephant populations," he said.

In 1989, legal trade in African elephant ivory was halted by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, CITES. Two legal sales of stockpiled ivory from elephants that died of natural causes have been allowed since then, but conservationists say the legal sales have masked illegal trading, which has skyrocketed since the last legal sale in 2009.

According to media reports between 50,000 to 100,000 containers enter Malaysia's ports every month and only those which are singled out via intelligence or tip-offs are inspected. International criminal syndicates, who often smuggle drugs, arms and other illegal goods, are known to be heavily involved in the trafficking of ivory and benefit from a lack of international coordination.

"IFAW has funded Interpol's Ecomessage award to encourage international cooperation in tackling this nefarious and multimillion-euro business that is devastating our ecosystem," said Alie.

The Interpol Ecomessage award is presented to the country or countries that have contributed the most to the international exchange of intelligence relating to environmental criminals. Botswana and Poland were recognized in 2010 for the value of their information and their consistency in submitting ecomessages.