PUTRAJAYA: Containers transported on trailer lorries will soon be equipped with electronic security seals (e-seal) to deter tampering and smuggling of prohibited goods.
Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan today said the Customs Department was studying and testing the e-seal, a technology developed by local experts.
The e-seal, he said, was used by the Customs Department in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Congo, where smuggling was reduced and boosted the countries' tax revenue.
"The e-seal will replace the decades-long use of lead seals, which can be tampered with and allowed smugglers to change goods in containers.
"The e-seal, equipped with global positioning system, is placed at the back of containers and tracks the movement of trailer lorries and are monitored by the department's command centre.
"It can detect if a trailer lorry, let's say, travelling from Port Klang to Bukit Kayu Hitam with declared items, stops somewhere for a few hours to change the container's goods with, for example, drugs.
"If the container is not opened at the intended destination and time, a sensor will be triggered and it alerts the command centre.
"There is better enforcement, security and monitoring and we can eradicate smuggling and increase the country's revenue by 20 per cent."
He said this after a work visit to the department here.
He added that discussions on the use of the e-seal had been going on for a few months and hoped it could take off soon.
The country, he said, should jump on the bandwagon and use local technology, but it was vital to test it here first to ensure its efficiency and confidence in the product.
A pilot run, he added, was conducted recently for a few weeks with local companies, including logistic firms.
Present were Customs director-general Datuk Zazuli Johan and enforcement and compliance deputy director-general Datuk Sazali Mohamad.
Separately, Ahmad said the Customs Department had from January to May this year seized 2,410.22kg worth of drugs worth RM81.39 million.
The biggest seizure was 1,307.01kg of cannabis followed by 1,071.14kg of MDMA (ecstasy), 21.56kg of methamphetamine, 3.73kg of heroin and 10,003 Eramin 5 pills, he said.
Until last month, there were 48 smuggling cases involving seizures of subsidised goods, such as diesel, cooking oil, petrol and sugar worth RM432,659.48.
Last year, there were 100 cases where goods worth RM573,688 were confiscated.
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