Cocaine Case in Japan: ‘They Are Drug Mules’ – Hussein

JOHOR BAHRU: The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) have confirmed that two of the five Malaysians arrested with five kilogrammes of cocaine at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on October 10 are a married couple.

Bukit Aman Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department (NCID) Director Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said the couple, who are from Sarawak, were believed to have invited three friends to join them on a holiday to Japan before all five were detained by Japanese authorities.

He said each individual was given a pair of shoes believed to have been used by the syndicate to conceal drugs.

“They travelled from Sarawak to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), and from KLIA to an international airport in Tokyo. Therefore, we believe they were all aware of what they were carrying.

“They are drug mules. Each of them was offered RM8,000 to transport the shoes,” he told a press conference at Dewan Dato’ Onn, Johor Police Contingent Headquarters (IPK), here on Friday.

Also present was Johor Deputy Police Chief Hoo Chuan Huat.

Hussein said all five individuals were believed to have known that the items they were carrying were linked to illegal activities.

He said the group had also engaged the services of a travel agent from Kuala Lumpur to arrange their trip.

However, the travel agent was not detained and had returned to Malaysia, as the agent was believed to have been unaware of the drug-smuggling activities.

Elaborating, Hussein said background checks revealed that none of the five individuals had previous criminal records.

Nevertheless, investigations are ongoing to determine whether they had travelled to other countries using the same modus operandi or had broader involvement with the drug syndicate.

Meanwhile, he reminded Malaysians to exercise caution when accepting travel offers, particularly if they are given items such as shoes, bags or other belongings to carry overseas.

He said members of the public should ensure they know the contents of the items they are carrying to avoid being exploited by syndicates as drug mules.

Previously, Japanese authorities arrested five Malaysians at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on October 10 after discovering approximately five kilogrammes of cocaine concealed in the insoles of their shoes.

Japanese media estimated the seized drugs to be worth approximately 120 million yen, or RM3.1 million.

Sinar Harian