Malaysia says it seized ~$12.11M worth of AI chips this month, as authorities close in on a syndicate suspected of smuggling through the country's main airport (Rozanna Latiff/Reuters)

Malaysian customs officials seized 30 server units equipped with advanced artificial intelligence chips at a warehouse in the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Free Commercial Zone. According to the New Straits Times, the seizure occurred around 11:30 a.m. on October 15. The shipment, which arrived from an undisclosed Asian country under a single air waybill, was allegedly declared as ordinary electronic components to evade detection.

The New Straits Times reports the servers were valued at RM45 million with RM4.5 million in estimated taxes, totaling RM49.5 million. KLIA Customs director Aspalila AG Tuah stated the syndicate intended to re-export the servers to another Asian country, using Malaysia as a transit point to avoid export restrictions. Techmeme and Economic Times Tech report the seizure is valued at approximately $12.11 million.

Authorities believe a syndicate is using Malaysia as a transit hub to re-export the chips, according to the Winnipeg Free Press. This incident is the fifth case involving advanced AI chips detected this year, with total seizure values exceeding RM100 million, the New Straits Times reports. NDTV notes the Southeast Asian nation is a growing data-centre hub seeking to prevent being used as a transit point for restricted chips.

Brief written by urgent.news from Techmeme, Winnipeg Free Press, NDTV, New Straits Times, Economic Times Tech — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.