Keeping illegal imports of radioactive material in check

The Star

08-07-2025

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.