Rhino Horn Smuggling Continues

Eighteen rhino horns were seized by Malaysian authorities on Friday at Kuala Lumpur Airport. The horns are currently believed to have been smuggled into the country from Mozambique.

While certain details remain unknown, Airport Customs Director, Hamzah Sundang said that custom officials made the seizure at the airport cargo warehouse. This seizure was made possible thanks to a tip-off.

Unfortunately there are still many people, mostly in Asia, that believe rhino horns possess medicinal properties and therefore the demand for the substance is still incredibly high in many parts of the continent.

Sundang also said that authorities believe the horns to have been flown from Mozambique with a transit point in Doha before arriving at the Kuala Lumpur airport last Friday. The horns weighed 51.4kgs and are worth 13.6 million ringgit which translates to approximately US$3.1 million. They are said to have been declared as art objects in a forged air bill with a fake final destination.

No arrests have yet been made, however Hamzah says that a case for smuggling of prohibited goods is being investigated.