SEPANG: The Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Customs Department foiled several attempts to smuggle dangerous substances into the country with the seizure of RM3mil worth of drugs in five days.
KLIA Customs director Datuk Chik Omar Chik Lim said three foreign nationals were also apprehended between Aug 3 and Aug 8 in two separate arrests.
In the first case, Customs personnel uncovered 2.548kg worth of ketamine stashed alongside nine packets of macaroni in an unclaimed box which arrived from Lagos, Nigeria on July 29.
Chik Omar said Customs officers seized the unclaimed parcel at 3pm on Aug 3 after failed attempts to reach the contact number supplied on the box.
“We are still tracking down the owner of the parcel,” he said, adding that the drugs were worth RM 95,850.
In the second case, Customs personnel seized 5.115kg worth of methamphetamine from a 56-year-old Indian national at the KLIA arrival hall at 7.45am on Saturday.
Chik Omar said the substance, worth RM 971,850, was found hidden underneath textiles in a special compartment in the woman’s luggage bag.
“She had just arrived at KLIA from Chennai. She had entered the country four times before for business purposes,” he explained.
On the same flight a married couple from Chennai was also arrested on suspicion of attempting to smuggle 10.17kg of methamphetamine into the country through KLIA.
The man, 42, and his wife, 34, were apprehended at 7.40am. The stash, worth RM 1.932mil, were also found hidden in special compartments in two luggage bags.
Chik Omar said the male suspect had entered the country 20 times since 2013 while his wife had entered Malaysia nine times this year.
All three suspects have been remanded for a week under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which is punishable by death upon conviction.
