The Ministry of Environment and Water, through the Department of Environment (DOE) foiled an attempt to import five containers of used lead-acid batteries from Australia, at Port Klang near here, last Monday.

The ministry, in a statement, said the tip-off on the importation attempt was from the Australian government and the containers were seized with the cooperation of the Customs Department, Port Klang Authority and Westports Malaysia.

“The used lead-acid batteries are classified as hazardous wastes under the Basel Convention and has been listed as SW102 Scheduled Wastes in accordance with the Environmental Quality (scheduled wastes) Regulations 2005.

"The consignee’s address as stated in the shipment record was found to be fake and the importation was carried out without the approval of the DOE, which acts as the authority to the Basel Convention,” the statement said.

It also said that the importation of such hazardous wastes was classified as illegal as provided in Article 9 of the Basel Convention.

According to the statement, a notice under section 31 (1) and section 37 (1) of the Environmental Quality Act 1974 was issued by the DOE to the shipping company, to redirect the containers to the country of origin, Australia.

“We owe our success in thwarting the smuggling attempt, to the bilateral cooperation between the Malaysian and Australian governments in combating cross border movements of hazardous wastes," the statement said.

Meanwhile, the ministry, through the Australian High Commission in Malaysia, also expressed its appreciation to the Australian government for their kind cooperation. - Bernama