15 radioactive smuggling cases detected yearly in Malaysia
Deputy director-general Monalija Kostor revealed that materials like Cobalt-60 and Cesium-137 are frequently smuggled, often disguised as harmless goods.
Radiation Portal Monitors (RPMs) installed at border checkpoints play a crucial role in intercepting these hazardous substances. Monalija explained that smugglers commonly mislabel radioactive materials as dairy products, toys, or textiles to evade detection.
When radioactive substances are smuggled into Malaysia, they are sent back to their country of origin. However, if they are being exported illegally, the government seizes them and takes legal action. 'The court decides whether the items are forfeited. The government either retains them for proper disposal or returns them after imposing fines,' she said.
Monalija emphasised the severity of such offences, as radioactive materials pose serious threats to public safety and national security. These substances are widely used in industries like oil and gas, plastics, and electronics. Smugglers often bypass regulations to cut costs or due to ignorance of the law.
Atom Malaysia remains vigilant in enforcing strict controls to ensure all radioactive imports and exports comply with national regulations.
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The Star
08-07-2025
- The Star
Keeping illegal imports of radioactive material in check
JOHOR BARU: The Atomic Energy Department (Atom Malaysia) records an average of 15 cases of radioactive material smuggling each year, with most incidents detected at Port Klang. Atom Malaysia deputy directorgeneral Monalija Kostor said the smuggling of radioactive materials like Cobalt-60 and Cesium-137, both into and out of the country, is detected by Radiation Portal Monitors (RPMs) at sea and land border entry points. She said one of the main tactics used by smugglers was to declare the cargo as other types of goods to avoid detection by the authorities. 'Most smuggling cases occur at Port Klang, a highly active import and export hub, where several containers have been found with radioactive materials. 'Smugglers use various tactics such as falsely declaring goods as dairy products, toys or textiles to conceal the radioactive cargo,' she added. Monalija said this during a press conference after the Malaysia-Indonesia-Thailand-Singapore Multilateral Nuclear Security Detection Exercise (Mitsatom) 2025 held at a hotel here yesterday. She added that any radioactive materials smuggled into the country would be returned to the country of origin. 'If smuggled out of our country, the government will seize the material and bring the case to court to determine its forfeiture from the owner. 'The radioactive material may then be taken over by the government for proper handling or returned to the owner after a fine is imposed,' she said. Monalija added that such smuggling cases are considered serious and must be curbed as they could pose risks to public safety and national security. She said radioactive materials are commonly used in industries such as oil and gas, plastics, and electronics, which may explain why illegal smuggling often occurs to avoid regulatory costs or to maximise profits. 'Typically, illegal imports occur to avoid company costs or due to unawareness of Malaysia's radioactive material regulations. But we will not allow such things to happen,' she added. As such, she said Atom Malaysia continuously implements strict border controls to ensure that any movement of radioactive materials into or out of Malaysia is done legally under existing laws. Monalija added that Malaysia is ramping up efforts to prevent radioactive material smuggling by hosting a high-level international field training exercise, Mitsatom, in Johor this week. She said the training involves participants from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore, focusing on nuclear security awareness, border surveillance and response coordination to incidents involving illicit trafficking of radioactive materials. Monalija added that a field training exercise would be held on this Thursday at a maritime jetty in Gelang Patah under the Mitsatom programme. She also said ahead of the main drill, the programme includes tabletop simulation exercises today and tomorrow, as well as a nuclear security talk to raise awareness among participants and observers from all four participating nations. 'The training aims to assess cross-border communication and emergency responses involving the detection and interdiction of radioactive material smuggling. The simulation scenarios involve land and maritime smuggling routes shared between Malaysia and its neighbours. 'These include land borders with Thailand and Singapore as well as maritime borders with Indonesia as a potential trafficking route,' she said. Monalija added that Mitsatom is Malaysia's fourth international nuclear security exercise since 2015, making it one of the most active countries in South-East Asia in countering nuclear smuggling. She added earlier drills were conducted with Thailand (in 2015 and 2016), focusing on land border interdiction, while in 2018, Malaysia hosted a maritime-focused drill with Indonesia and the Philippines in Kota Kinabalu. 'This year's exercise is especially comprehensive, combining both land and sea interdiction scenarios to test preparedness across multiple border types. 'We have designed four smuggling scenarios where radioactive materials are successfully intercepted and returned to the authorities,' she said. Monalija added that the training exercises help Malaysian authorities and their counterparts from within the region to ensure that radioactive sources remain under legal control and do not fall into the wrong hands. 'Our top priority is to ensure radioactive materials are tightly regulated, and that our borders remain secure against nuclear threats,' she said.
The Sun
07-07-2025
- The Sun
15 radioactive smuggling cases detected yearly in Malaysia
JOHOR BAHRU: The Department of Atomic Energy Malaysia (Atom Malaysia) detects an average of 15 cases of radioactive smuggling each year, with Port Klang being the hotspot for such illegal activities. Deputy director-general Monalija Kostor revealed that materials like Cobalt-60 and Cesium-137 are frequently smuggled, often disguised as harmless goods. Radiation Portal Monitors (RPMs) installed at border checkpoints play a crucial role in intercepting these hazardous substances. Monalija explained that smugglers commonly mislabel radioactive materials as dairy products, toys, or textiles to evade detection. When radioactive substances are smuggled into Malaysia, they are sent back to their country of origin. However, if they are being exported illegally, the government seizes them and takes legal action. 'The court decides whether the items are forfeited. The government either retains them for proper disposal or returns them after imposing fines,' she said. Monalija emphasised the severity of such offences, as radioactive materials pose serious threats to public safety and national security. These substances are widely used in industries like oil and gas, plastics, and electronics. Smugglers often bypass regulations to cut costs or due to ignorance of the law. Atom Malaysia remains vigilant in enforcing strict controls to ensure all radioactive imports and exports comply with national regulations.
Malay Mail
07-07-2025
- Malay Mail
Atom says Malaysia sees around 15 cases of radioactive material smuggling yearly
JOHOR BARU, July 7 — The Department of Atomic Energy (Atom Malaysia) revealed today that it has successfully uncovered several attempts by a syndicate to smuggle in illegal radioactive materials using forged customs documents. The syndicate forged customs declaration forms that stated it was importing toys, dairy products or textiles as a cover for smuggling in the radioactive materials. Atom Malaysia deputy director-general Monalija Kostor said the syndicate's activities were recently uncovered after an inspection by the authorities. She said attempts to smuggle in the radioactive materials were carried out via land and sea routes, involving the national border areas, with an average of 15 such cases per year. 'The syndicate also attempted to smuggle in radioactive materials via Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang and through the entry point in Penang. 'However, the most frequent attempts occurred in Port Klang, Selangor, where the radioactive materials were declared as other items,' she told reporters after the Multilateral Nuclear Security Detection Exercise, Malaysia-Indonesia-Thailand-Singapore 2025 (MITSATOM 2025) opening ceremony at the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel here today. Present at the event were Atom Malaysia director-general Noraisha Pungut and Johor Education and Information Committee chairman Aznan Tamin. Monalija said Atom Malaysia actively conducts radioactive material smuggling detection at Malaysian borders through the installation of Radiation Portal Monitors (RPM) at the respective entry points. 'Most of the radioactive materials are smuggled in from foreign countries, including some taken out of our own country without a licence. "This activity, which is carried out illegally without permission, can cause harm and be used by terrorists,' she said. Monalija explained that the radioactive materials were smuggled mainly for use in the oil and gas, electronics, research and medical industries. She added that such radioactive material, which is very dangerous when openly exposed, was smuggled to reduce the cost of legally importing the material. 'Legally importing radioactive material usually costs more than RM1 million and is dependent on the type of radioactive material. 'By smuggling these materials, the users aim to maximise their profits without realising the harmful public health effects and national security risks they pose,' she said.
