THE Customs Department successfully thwarted an attempt to smuggle 6.13kg of cocaine, valued at RM1.22 million, concealed inside the hand carry luggage of a passenger at Terminal 1 of Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang on January 9.

Wong Pun Sian, the department’s central zone enforcement operations director, revealed that the illicit substances were discovered within seven cosmetic boxes.

These boxes contained substances resembling soap bars and were concealed in the hand-carry luggage of a French passenger arriving on a flight from Sao Paolo, Brazil. Initial investigations revealed that the substance was cocaine.

“The modus operandi of the syndicate is to conceal the soap-like drugs inside cosmetic boxes of various colours to fool the authorities. The hand-carry luggage containing the drugs is brought in by a senior passenger who is travelling to the country alone,” he said in a statement today.

The individual was detained for questioning and investigations under section 39B(1)(b) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 which carries the mandatory death penalty or life imprisonment and not less than 12 strokes of the rotan if the death penalty is not meted out, upon conviction.

Wong said that based on the weight of the drugs seized, the drugs could fix the cravings of 30,685 addicts. – Bernama, January 17, 2024.