‘They were aware’: Bukit Aman on five Malaysians held in Tokyo with cocaine in their shoes

On October 16, Bukit Aman, the Malaysian law enforcement agency, disclosed that five Malaysians were apprehended at Haneda International Airport in Tokyo, Japan, for concealing a total of five kilograms of cocaine in the soles of their shoes. The suspects, aged between 19 and 26, were allegedly paid RM8,000 each by an unidentified drug syndicate to act as drug mules.

Bukit Aman Narcotics Crime Investigation Department (NCID) director Datuk Hussein Omar Khan stated that the suspects were aware of the illegal nature of the substance they were carrying. The investigation is ongoing to determine whether all the suspects were directly involved in the syndicate and whether they had previously traveled to other countries using the same method.

None of the suspects had a prior criminal record. The group consisted of a married couple and their friends, who traveled to Japan for a holiday before their arrest. Hussein explained that the drugs were pre-stuffed in the shoes of each suspect by the syndicate. A Malaysian travel agent, who was not arrested, facilitated the trip and was cleared of involvement.

The NCID has sent a team to Japan to further investigate the case. In a separate development, on October 1, Laotian authorities confiscated 521 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine hidden inside a Learjet private jet at Luang Prabang International Airport in Laos. Thirteen individuals, including Malaysians, Singaporeans, and Filipinos, were detained by the Laotian police to assist in the ongoing transnational drug trafficking investigation.