What happened recently clearly shows that syndicates have started using Malaysia as a middle route or transit hub for smuggling AI chips and drugs.
This was proven when the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (JKDM) managed to detect and seize 72 units of servers containing sophisticated AI chips with an estimated value of around RM52.9 million, which is almost RM53 million before they could be re-exported to an unspecified Asian country.
This shows that the AI chips were not for use here, but Malaysia was only used as a temporary stop to confuse the authorities. Therefore, this seizure shows how important it is to have tight controls at entry points such as KLIA so that Malaysia is not used as a transit center for international smuggling.
The modus operandi used by this syndicate group is to claim the servers as “ordinary computer components” so that they are not detected as sophisticated AI chips. In this way, they hope that the authorities will not notice the smuggling and the goods can pass inspection easily. However, the attempt was successfully thwarted by the JKDM.
This is of concern because AI chips are not ordinary goods but are categorised as strategic goods under the Strategic Trade Act 2010. Such goods cannot be exported at will and their shipment must first obtain official approval.
In the same development, the JKDM also seized 4,760 electronic cigarette (vape) liquid cartridges worth RM1.19 million suspected of containing drugs hidden in the casing of the central processing unit (CPU).
