KUALA LUMPUR: Lucrative earnings lured a Malaysian man to smuggle fur coat to neighbouring countries.
His activities was thwarted by the Malaysian Border Security Agency (Aksem) when he was arrested at the Bukit Kayu Hitam Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security Complex with 46 fur coats.
Peninsular Malaysia Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) director-general Datuk Abdul Kadir Hashim said the man, who was heading to Thailand, was detained at 3.30pm last Tuesday when his four-wheel drive was inspected at the check-point.
According to Kadir, inspection of the Toyota Hilux revealed various car accessories at the back of the vehicle.
"A thorough inspection led to the discovery of a gunny sack wrapped with wire hidden in the gap between the accessories.
"The authorities found 46 fur coats inside the gunny sack, believed to have been made from wild animal skin," he said.
Kadir said all the coats were not declared to the authorities during the inspection.
"In fact all the garments do not have any valid export documents from Perhilitan.
"Aksem then handed over the goods to the Kedah Perhilitan for further action," he said.
He said all the samples were sent to Perhilitan headquarters’ forensic laboratory for DNA analysis to identify the species of animals.
"The suspect was taken to the Kubang Pasu district police headquarters for questioning," he added.