Customs Dept nabs 83-year-old Korean man trying to smuggle cocaine worth RM770,000

SEPANG: The Customs Department has apprehended an 83-year-old Korean man after he was caught trying to smuggle 3.84kg of cocaine worth RM770,000.

Customs Department Deputy Director-General Datuk Sazali Mohamad said that the suspect had arrived from Doha, Qatar and entered the country's border with a tourist visa.

Based on flight records, he boarded a Qatar Airways flight departing from Doha Airport to KLIA 1 on Sept 26 and arrived in Malaysia on Sept 27.

"During the inspection of two pieces of luggage carried by the suspect, two silver-colored packages hidden inside the inner compartment of the bag were discovered," he said at the Customs Cargo Complex here.

Sazali further said that the court had approved the remand application under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 as the Korean man would be held for 15 days until Oct 12.

He also believed that the drugs were meant for the local market.

"The modus operandi of this syndicate involves concealing narcotics within luggage that has been modified to deceive the authorities.

"Based on the quantity of narcotics seized, this operation has successfully prevented distribution to approximately 20,000 drug users," he added.