PUTRAJAYA: A total of 10,125 packs of golden apple snail (siput gondang emas) poison containing the active ingredient fentin acetate which is banned in the country, was seized in a raid at a premises selling agricultural inputs in Kampung Gajah, Perak, on Feb 1.
Agriculture Department director-general, Datuk Zahimi Hassan, said the seized illegal poison worth RM50,625 was kept in 81 boxes, and during the raid, there were several customers and two workers at the premises.
He said initial investigations revealed that the pesticide which originates from China, was sold at RM5 per sachet, and is also available online.
Fetin acetate which is a chemical pesticide belonging to the group of organotin compounds was first introduced in 1954 as a fungicide and insecticide.
"This poison is classified as highly toxic and dangerous to the environment, especially to aquatic life," he said at a press conference here today.
He said the department was finalising an investigation paper against the shop owner for the case under Section 20(3) of the Pesticides Act 1974.
Meanwhile, Zahimi said there are 22 registered snail poison products that can be used by farmers to solve the problem of pest infestation as they have low toxicity to humans, animals, and the environment.
"The existing pest control uses registered pesticides containing active ingredients such as metaldehyde, niclosamide and niclosamide-olamine, which have been evaluated for quality and efficacy," he said.
As the illegal poisons are sold online, he said a meeting will be held with several platform providers to introduce a campaign on legal compliance regarding the matter. – Bernama