JOB offers and travel packages to Malaysia are believed to have been used as a trap by an international drug syndicate to deceive foreigners before turning them into drug mules.
Selangor police chief Datuk Shazeli Kahar says the syndicate not only offered travel packages to the Klang Valley, but also paid them up to RM6,000 for the trip.
The modus operandi was uncovered following the arrest of 12 suspects in 10 raids around Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and the Sepang district between Aug 28 and Sept 21.
Of the 12 suspects, 11 were foreign nationals, comprising four men and seven women, while the remaining suspect was a local man.
He said investigations found that some of the foreign suspects had entered Malaysia using social visit passes before being instructed to take luggage that did not belong to them back to their respective countries.
“When they arrived in Malaysia, they were required to bring back luggage that clearly did not belong to them, and it was in those bags that the drugs were concealed.
“They were instructed to meet in the hotel lobby before the bags were handed over to them.
“All those arrested this time had European countries as their final destinations. There were suspects from East Asia, Europe and South America,” he said at a press conference today.
He said all the suspects arrested were aged between 17 and 62, while checks found that they had no previous criminal records.
He added that urine tests conducted on all the suspects also returned negative results for drugs.
In the operation, police seized 671 plastic packets containing compressed blocks believed to be cannabis, with a total weight of about 418 kilogrammes (kg) and an estimated value of RM33.4 million.
In a related development, the local man arrested was believed to have acted as a runner supplying the illicit substance to the drug mules. However, police said the case was not linked to the other suspects detained in the operation.
He said six suspects had been charged under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, while another six remained in remand to assist investigations.
Police also seized two vehicles and foreign currencies from three suspects, with the total value estimated at RM37.7 million. - September 23, 2026
