SEPANG: The Customs Department has foiled a ketamine smuggling attempt with the arrest of two foreigners and the seizure of more than RM1.7mil worth of the drugs.
Customs director-general Datuk Seri Abdul Latif Abdul Kadir said a team comprising personnel from the KLIA Customs Enforcement Unit and Customs Narcotic Division raided a shoplot at Ampang at around 2.05pm on Oct 8.
“We arrested two men aged 37 and 45 who were just standing on the five footway of the shoplot unit.
"When we checked the shoplot, we found 35 cereal boxes containing 30.68kg of ketamine," he told reporters at the KLIA Customs Cargo Complex here on Wednesday (Oct 14).
He said investigations revealed the drugs had been smuggled together with food items from a South Asian country.
"A consignment of 53 boxes declared as food items were imported but only 18 contained cereal.
"The remaining boxes contained about 700g of drugs in each box," he said, adding that the Customs Department believes the drugs were meant for the domestic market.
Latif added that both suspects have been remanded for seven days to assist with investigations into drug trafficking.
"We believe the two suspects were also working with a local syndicate to market their product.
"We are now investigating how frequently these two suspects were importing goods here and will also investigate the forwarding agent involved," he said.
Latif added that between January and Oct 14 this year, his department has detected 150 drug smuggling cases nationwide.
"We managed to arrest three suspects so far and seize over RM5.06mil worth of drugs.
"We urge anyone with information on such activities to come forward immediately," he said, assuring all informants that their identities would remain anonymous.
Those with information on smuggling cases can contact the Customs Department toll free hotline at 1 800 88 8855 or go to the nearest Customs Department office.
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