Malaysian Customs seized 184kg of methamphetamines in raids, which, authorities claim, proves Iranian smugglers are using air cargo to import drugs.
A 19-year-old Iranian was arrested.
The drugs, with a street value of over Rg46 million ($14.9m), were seized in raids on two houses in the capital of Kuala Lumpur at the end of last month, senior customs official Liah Omar told reporters.
The methamphetamines were hidden in crates labelled as ornaments and brought into the country as air freight, he said.
“As drug mules are often arrested because of tight security, the syndicates are trying new means to get drugs into the country, and as air cargo scans are carried out randomly, they find it an easy way to smuggle drugs in.
“The crates were addressed to several different Iranian nationals to avoid suspicion.”
Malaysia has recently seen a sharp increase in the number of Iranians detained on drug trafficking charges, with 138 arrested between January and October last year, compared with 16 in the whole of 2009, according to police figures.
Kizzi Nkwocha | Thu, 15 Sep 2011, IFW News