THE Customs Department seized more than 370kg of drugs worth RM25.5 million in three raids this month.

In the biggest haul, Customs (Enforcement and Compliance) deputy director-general Sazali Mohamad said they seized 270kg of ecstasy pills worth RM19.8 million.

In the raid on a petrol station in Damansara, Selangor, at 9.30pm on October 20, Customs personnel also arrested two men, aged 44 and 57, in a lorry. They found two wooden crates of ecstasy pills hidden in several sacks. Also seized were a Toyota Vellfire and a lorry.

“The modus operandi of this syndicate is to hoodwink the authorities by hiding the drugs in wooden crates declared as machinery,” Sazali said at the department’s narcotics branch in Kampung Jijan, Nilai, today.

“Preliminary investigations showed the gang used an air route from a European country, with transit in a Middle East country before arriving in Malaysia as the final destination.”

In another case, the department arrested a 42-year-old man in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, at 4.30pm on October 11. The team seized a lorry containing four boxes of ketamine weighing 91kg worth RM5.4 million.

“In this case, the merchandise was declared as ‘tiles adhesive’. The recipient’s address was changed at the last minute before the delivery,” Sazali said.

“The merchandise was brought in by air from a European country.”

In the third case on October 13, Customs personnel seized 10kg of methamphetamine worth RM330,000 hidden in packets of dog food.

“Following the arrest of a 42-year-old local man, investigations led us to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport cargo complex. There, we found a shipment addressed to a Petaling Jaya location,” Sazali said.

He said the “dog food” was to be delivered to an uninhabited house.

The cargo was flown in from a European country with Malaysia named as the final destination. – Bernama, October 28, 2023.