Malaysia said it has intercepted a massive shipment of illegal electronic waste (e-waste) at Port Klang just weeks after imposing a nationwide ban on such imports.
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The country has in recent years struggled with a surge in imported electronic waste, much of it shipped from developed economies and often entering illegally or disguised as legitimate goods, prompting authorities to impose a nationwide ban on e-waste imports to curb the inflow of hazardous materials.
The Royal Malaysian Customs Department (JKDM) said it thwarted an attempt to smuggle an estimated 186,737 kilogrammes of electronic waste into the country through the port, one of Malaysia’s busiest maritime gateways and primary cargo hubs.
The operation, conducted earlier this month, found illegal shipment worth more than RM2.15 million (US$550,000) in eight 40-foot containers from Canada, Spain and Croatia.
Pahang Customs director Mohd Asri Seman said the containers were intercepted after intelligence flagged inconsistencies in the import documentation. The consignments were imported without the required permits and inaccurately declared on customs forms.
The syndicate is believed to have deliberately labelled the cargo as copper concentrate or copper alloy, and it was “clearly intended to mislead authorities and circumvent prescribed import regulations,” said Mohd Asri, as cited by the Malay Mail newspaper.
He added that all confiscated e-waste will be returned to the countries of origin after investigations conclude.
The case is under investigation, and if convicted, offenders face a fine of up to twenty times the value of the goods or RM500,000 (US$128,500), as well as a jail term of up to five years.
This seizure comes after Malaysia imposed a nationwide ban on e-waste imports as part of stricter measures to prevent the entry of hazardous waste into the country, following multiple raids and arrests of top environment officials for alleged irregularities involving e-waste imports.
Malaysia’s Anti-Corruption Commission previously said that e-waste has been moved into the country’s “absolute prohibition” category, and the environment department has been instructed to work with customs authorities to implement a new classification category.
On top of the ban, the authorities also agreed to strengthen coordination and enforcement of e-waste through the establishment of a special committee that will be chaired by the Malaysia Border Control and Protection Agency (MCBA).
Last week, MCBA’s investigations revealed 43 containers out of the 116 that were inspected to contain illegal waste and e-waste weighing about 911,000 kg under an enforcement operation at Port Klang.
MCBA Port Klang commander Nik Ezanee Mohd Faisal said the latest round of inspections involved 20 containers at the CFS 4 site in Westports, conducted jointly with multiple agencies.
Of the 20 containers inspected, three were confirmed to contain e-waste – including cables, mixed electronic scrap and pure e-waste – with a combined weight exceeding 61 tonnes, while the remaining 17 contained plastic waste. These containers had entered Malaysia between July 2025 and January 2026.
Separately, the MCBA had intercepted 37,028 kg of e-waste at West Port in Port Klang on Friday, in two shipping containers that have entered the country using false customs declarations.
The seizure took place during a physical inspection at the site and found ne container carrying 14,832 kg of discarded electronic items, such as remote controls, keyboards, credit card machines and CPUs, and the other containing 22,196kg of used printers and receipt printing machines.
