Maqis seizes 4,500kg of Indian buffalo meat in Pasir Gudang citing halal certificate issues

PASIR GUDANG: Some 4,500kg of frozen buffalo meat from India worth RM41,000 has been seized by the Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services Department (Maqis) here.

State Maqis director Edie Putra Md Yusof said that checks on a container ferrying the items on Thursday (Oct 13) found that there were inconsistencies in the halal certificate presented.

“We found 188 boxes of frozen buffalo meat in the container.

“Upon inspection, we found inconsistencies in its halal certificate. The date of slaughter declared was not the same as in the one in the halal certificate.

“The meat, weighing 4,500kg in total, has been seized for further actions,” he said in a statement here on Saturday (Oct 15).

He noted that a 21-year-old delivery agent has been released after having his statements recorded.

The use of inaccurate and misleading information on halal and health certificates will be investigated under Section 13 of the Quarantine and Inspection Services Act 2011 (Act 728) for providing inaccurate information for import.

If convicted, one could be fined not more than RM50,000 or sentenced to a maximum of two years jail or both.

Edie said that Maqis was committed to carrying out enforcement activities at all entry points of the country and ensuring that rules set by the government were abided.