Five Malaysians arrested at Haneda Airport after 5kg of cocaine found stashed in shoes
Five Malaysians were arrested at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport after Japanese authorities found a total of 5kg of cocaine hidden beneath the insoles of their shoes.
The drugs were estimated to have a street value of about JPY120 million (around S$972,000).
Four of the suspects have reportedly admitted to the allegations, while one has denied them.
Customs officers initially apprehend two suspects
Customs officers initially discovered cocaine hidden in the shoes of two suspects on Saturday (10 Oct).
Each shoe contained about 500g of cocaine concealed beneath its insole.
Source: NHK One
After interviewing the pair, investigators began to suspect they were travelling alongside other individuals.
They then located three more Malaysians at the airport and similarly found cocaine in their insoles, Mainichi reported.
Sixth person returned to Malaysia
Following the incident, Malaysia’s Bukit Aman Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department (NCID) said six Malaysians aged between 19 and 26 had departed from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA2) on Friday (9 Oct).
Five of them were detained in Tokyo, while the sixth person returned to Malaysia.
Source: NHK One
NCID director Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said authorities had identified all six individuals.
Five of them were from Sarawak, and none had previous criminal records.
Police suspect group may have been recruited as drug mules
Japanese police suspect the group may have been recruited to transport the drugs.
According to an NHK report, a 24-year-old suspect has also admitted that he had been recruited through a messaging app.
Source: NHK One
“Someone I met through an app told me it was a job to transport illegal drugs overseas. I was offered a reward and given shoes,” he said.
Japanese authorities are investigating whether an international drug-smuggling syndicate is involved in the case.
Malaysia’s NCID also plans to send officers to Japan to obtain more information and investigate possible links to drug syndicate networks operating in Malaysia and overseas, The Borneo Post reported.
Also read: 15kg of cocaine seized from single passenger at airport in Japan
15kg of cocaine seized from single passenger at airport in Japan
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Featured image adapted from NHK One.
