Kuala Lumpur  - Malaysian customs officers seized 2,500 boxes of smuggled frozen cow lungs from Argentina worth 52,000 ringgit (16,300 dollars), a news report said Thursday.

A team of customs officers from the northern state of Perak discovered 25 tons of cow lungs inside a 12-meter-long container during a raid last week in the neighbouring state of Penang, department director Dzulkurnain Abdul Rahman said.

"We acted upon a public tip-off and confiscated the container," Dzulkurnain was quoted as saying by the Star online news portal.

He said the cow lungs did not come with valid import permits, adding that a customs agent and a worker from an importing company were also arrested during the operation.

Dzulkurnain said the duo were released on bail and would be charged with importing prohibited items.

If found guilty, they both face a fine of up to 20 times the value of the goods and a maximum three-year prison term, he said.

He said the seizure of the cow lungs was a first for the department. (dpa)