PUTRAJAYA: The Royal Malaysian Customs Department has thwarted four attempts to smuggle over 1,000 kilogrammes of cannabis valued at approximately 98 million ringgit.
These separate operations occurred around the Klang Valley and Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 1 recently.
KLIA Customs director Zulkifli Muhammad credited the success to swift action by the department’s Enforcement Division and collaboration with several security agencies including the Border Control and Protection Agency.
He confirmed that five local men have been arrested to assist with the investigation under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
“These four cases involved attempts to smuggle cannabis overseas, particularly to the European market, using various tactics, including disguising the drugs as commercial goods,” he said in a statement today.
In the first case on October 1, a local man was detained at KLIA Terminal 1 after being flagged for outstanding duties and taxes.
A baggage inspection then revealed 21.04 kilogrammes of cannabis worth around 2.06 million ringgit.
“The suspect was recently charged in court,” he said.
Zulkifli said that in the second case on September 27, authorities intercepted 21 packages of drugs weighing 220.32 kilogrammes and valued at 21.59 million ringgit in a courier truck at the KLIA export gate.
The truck was entering the KLIA Free Zone for export to a European country.
In the third case on September 29 and 30, raids at two logistics warehouses in Shah Alam and Subang Jaya uncovered 52 boxes of drugs from four separate consignments.
These drugs had a total weight of 464.58 kilogrammes and an estimated value of 45.53 million ringgit.
Zulkifli said that in the fourth case on October 3, authorities seized 294.35 kilogrammes of cannabis valued at 28.85 million ringgit at the KLIA Free Zone export gate.
The drugs were being transported overseas in 28 packages via a courier truck.
He added that in the second to fourth cases, the syndicate is believed to have concealed the drugs in boxes labelled as premium towel brands.
These boxes were sealed in airtight plastic to evade detection by authorities.
“Four men, including courier truck drivers and the owners of the logistics warehouses, have been detained to assist with the investigation into the three cases,” he said. – Bernama
