JOHOR BARU, MALAYSIA: The Customs Department foiled an attempt on Sunday to smuggle in frozen meat worth RM177,610.

Acting on a tip-off, enforcement officers stopped two lorries along the Kempas Highway about 6.30am and found 2,552 cartons holding 35,398kg of frozen meat, believed to be from Australia and Brazil.

"The two drivers could not produce supporting documents, including a permit to import the meat.

"We seized the lorries and arrested the drivers who are in their 30s.

"A co-driver escaped after abandoning the lorry," department director Datuk Halimah Salleh said yesterday.

Frozen meat is a prohibited commodity under the Customs Order 1998 and requires an import permit from the Veterinary Services Department.

In another raid, officers seized 122,200kg of waste paper worth RM61,100 from five lorries on Saturday.

The five drivers, aged between 30 and 40, and the manager of the shipping agency were arrested.

They had falsely declared the load as wood pellets and could not produce an export permit.

Waste paper is a prohibited commodity under the Second Schedule, Customs Order (Prohibition of Export) 1998 and requires an export licence from the International Trade and Industry Ministry.