KUALA LUMPUR: The New Straits Times' exposé of the activities of a syndicate, which smuggled in non-certified meat and sold it in Malaysia as halal products, has unearthed more startling revelations.
The frozen meat imported by the cartel from non-certified countries is not limited to beef, but also includes horse meat and kangaroo meat.
These items would, upon arrival in Malaysia, be mixed with beef in warehouses nationwide run by the cartel before being sold to unknowing suppliers.
Sources told the New Straits Times that among the stock they bring in are kangaroo meat, horse meat and beef. However, the beef is from animals of poor quality or even diseased, so it is obtained at much lower prices.
"The cartel buys the meat at up to 50 per cent cheaper than meat obtained from certified slaughterhouses and processing plants.
"The meat would then be shipped to Malaysia and ferried out via trucks and lorries to cartel warehouses, where it is mixed with certified halal meat.
"Coupled with it avoiding taxes and the procedures involved in importing certified halal meat, the cartel stands to make a healthy profit," said a source.
It is understood that the cartel takes delivery of frozen imported meat at least three times a week from abroad.
The meat, imported from countries whose halal certifications are not recognised by Malaysian authorities, would arrive via ships at Malaysian ports.
According to the source, over 60 containers of these goods were brought in between November last year and April into Northport and Westport in Port Klang.
Upon arrival at the ports, the shipment would bypass checks and be made available for the market.
"We have determined that the cartel brings in 300 to 400 containers a month, which originate from non-certified processing plants as well as countries whose halal accreditations are not recognised by Malaysian authorities."
These, said the source, include Canada, Colombia, Ukraine, Uruguay, Spain, Mexico, Bolivia, Paraguay, Hong Kong and China.
Countries whose processing plants' halal accreditations are recognised by the Veterinary Services Department and Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) are Australia, Argentina, Brazil, India, South Africa, Pakistan, Japan, New Zealand and the United States.
The source said the loss in potential government revenue from the smuggling is estimated to be around RM1.5 million a month.
The source said corrupt government officers were willing to take bribes of between RM150 and RM3,000 to close their eyes to enable these cargoes to be released.
Officers on the ground, meanwhile, allegedly receive payouts of between RM150 and RM500 to release each container.
Each container, said the source, had about 25 tonnes of meat, which would be sent to the cartel's warehouses for repackaging and slapped with bogus halal stickers.
The products would be distributed to markets and wholesalers before being sold to consumers.
The NST yesterday frontpaged how senior and junior officers in at least four government agencies were bribed by the cartel to ensure that its supply of non-certified meat entered the country and bypassed checks.
A source told the NST that by importing non-certified meat and mixing it with meat from legitimate sources, the cartel profited from avoiding taxes and duties as well as the costs involved in the halal-certification process.
The report stated that the cartel's activities had been going on for 40 years.
The report detailed the cartel's years of operations meant that it had a solid system in place to ensure that the products, from the slaughterhouse until they leave the ports for the markets, escaped official scrutiny.
Jakim and the Veterinary Services Department are understood to be responsible for the certification and quality of the imported items.
The Malaysian Department of Quarantine and Inspection Services, Royal Customs Department and port police, meanwhile, are in charge of managing the supplies once they entered Malaysian ports.