NILAI: Customs officers have crippled the activities of international drug trafficking syndicates with the seizure of 4.8 tonnes of various illicit drugs worth an estimated RM300mil in the last three months, says Customs director-general Datuk Amran Ahmad.
During the latest operation on June 15, he said about 3.4 tonnes of heroin valued at almost RM170mil was seized, which he described as its biggest success so far this year.
“Based on an intelligence report, we inspected a 40-foot container at Westport in Port Klang and found the drugs in liquid form concealed in 18,870 soft drink packets.
“The drugs were believed to have been shipped in from West Asia and its final destination was Australia,” he told reporters at the Custom’s (narcotics) headquarters in Kg Jijan near here.
Amran said the drugs were declared as mixed packed food stuff, soap, detergent and hair gel.
In the second case on May 18, he said his officers seized 11 boxes containing cannabis buds from a logistics company at KLIA Cargo complex in Sepang.
“The boxes had been declared to contain dried food and was destined for Europe,” he said, adding that two shipping agents were arrested.
The drugs, which weighed some 162kg, he said, was worth an estimated RM12.9mil.
Amran said five days earlier, Customs officers seized a parcel containing 2.68kg of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) from a foreign tourist at a hotel lobby in Kuala Lumpur.
“We arrested two other foreigners who were in a room at the same hotel and seized another 3.43kg of various drugs and 86g of psychotropic substance with a total value of almost RM979,000,” he said, adding that the drugs had been imported from France and declared as “gummy gums”.
Amran said all three suspects were charged under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act on May 25.
In the fourth case on May 12, he said his officers seized eight boxes containing 98 packets of MDMA from a godown at the KLIA Free Trade Zone.
The drugs weighing some 220kg was worth an estimated RM33mil which had been falsely declared as “spare parts for machinery”.
In the fifth major case on April 9, his officers seized 1,049.5kg of cannabis buds worth almost RM84mil that were hidden in a 40-foot container at Westport.
“The drugs, which had been brought in from a South-East Asian nation, were in transit here and destined for Europe,” he said, adding that the drugs had also been falsely declared as “luxury vinyl tile flooring”.
All the cases were being investigated under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Act.
Offenders can be sentenced to death or jailed between 30 and 40 years and given a minimum 12 strokes of the cane upon conviction.
