THE Customs Department has foiled three attempts to smuggle drugs worth more than RM1 million using courier and air cargo services at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) cargo area.

On May 14, the department seized a parcel with a Johor address at the hub of an express courier company in the KLIA cargo area and discovered 13 small packages containing methamphetamine weighing 1.07kg worth about RM35,000.

Central Zone Customs Enforcement Operations director Wong Pun Sian said initial investigations found that the parcel would have been sent to Australia.

He said the sender’s information was suspected to be false to avoid detection by the authorities.

“The syndicate’s modus operandi is to hide the drugs in silicone sealant containers and then place them in shoe boxes,” he said in a statement today.

On April 28, the department found nine packets wrapped with aluminum foil containing 4.63kg of heroin worth about RM435,000 placed in drink cans during an inspection at an outlet in the KLIA cargo area.

“The drinks were declared as ‘Avocado Multigrain’ from Johor and would be sent to Australia. The syndicate used false exporter information to avoid detection,” he said.

On April 11, Wong said the department seized an international parcel (inbound) from Pakistan at an outlet at KLIA cargo area and discovered 8.894kg of ketamine worth about RM533,000.

“The modus operandi in this case was to hide drugs in aluminum foil packets to avoid detection by the scanner and use courier services to send them to false addresses,” he said.

Wong said the department had foiled 37 drug smuggling attempts using courier and air cargo services from January to April this year. – Bernama, June 1, 2023.