馬來西亞海關查獲價值 $12.1m 的走私 AI 晶片

Malaysian authorities in June said they foiled an attempt to smuggle nearly $13m in AI chips.

Amid an increasingly frenzied battle for AI dominance, chips have become a key target for smugglers, as Malaysian authorities say they seized $12.1m worth of advanced AI chips just this month.

The country’s customs patrol told reporters today (28 October) that they are close on the heels of a group suspected of smuggling high-performance semiconductors via Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Authorities said they uncovered 30 server units containing advanced AI ⁠chips during an inspection earlier this month at the country’s main airport. An initial probe into discovery found that the units, coming from an Asian country, were to be shipped into another country in the continent. Transporting advanced AI chips via the country requires a trade permit.

However, according to the airport’s customs director Aspalila Ag Tuah, the servers were falsely declared as electronic components to bypass regulations. The move was carried out by a group responsible for similar previous foiled smuggling attempts. The syndicate has been linked to at least five cases involving chip seizures worth nearly $25m, she added.

A Malaysian company that facilitated the shipment has also been called in to assist with the investigation, authorities further said.

The country mandated trade permits to transport US-originated AI chip shipments last year following pressure from the American administration to curb flows into China. The latest probe comes after Malay authorities in June said they foiled an attempt to ship nearly $13m worth of servers containing AI chips through the Kuala Lumpur airport without a permit.

Taiwan, a key global producer of semiconductors, has launched multiple investigations and arrested several over suspicions that AI servers containing Nvidia-made tech were being illegally exported to China. Among those arrested over the allegations include Nvidia and Supermicro employees.

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