BUTTERWORTH – Some 70,650kg of frozen buffalo meat worth more than RM500,000 was seized by the Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services Department (Maqis) at the North Butterworth Container Terminal yesterday.
Penang Maqis director Noriah Dahlan said the seizure involving four containers of frozen buffalo meat from India was done after routine inspection by the department’s enforcement officers.
“All the containers failed to display the information required by the import permit,” she said.
“In this regard, we confiscated RM614,605.25 of the frozen buffalo meat because it did not comply with the conditions in the permit issued by the Maqis Department.”
Noriah said failure to comply with the conditions set by the Maqis import permit is an offence under Section 15 (1), Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services Act 2011 (Act 728).
If convicted, the offenders can be fined not more than RM100,000 or imprisoned for a term not exceeding six years or both.
“Maqis inspects agricultural products at every entrance to the country to ensure they are free from the threat of pests, diseases and contaminants, and comply with the conditions and regulations set by the government.” – The Vibes, April 13, 2021
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