{
  "id": 14072061,
  "title": "5 Malaysians held in Tokyo over cocaine smuggling attempt",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/12/5-malaysians-held-in-tokyo-over-cocaine-smuggling-attempt",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-12T23:21:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today-freemalays",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2026/10/13/5-malaysians-held-in-tokyo-over-cocaine-smuggling-attempt"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Five Malaysians were apprehended at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Saturday, suspected of attempting to smuggle approximately 5kg of cocaine valued at 120 million yen (RM3.1 million). The contraband was reportedly concealed beneath shoe insoles, with each suspect allegedly hiding about 1kg of the drug. Customs officials at the airport became suspicious of one of the suspects, leading to an initial inspection that detected cocaine beneath the insoles of two individuals. Investigation by customs officers uncovered three additional suspects who were allegedly traveling with the others. One of the suspects claimed he had been offered RM8,000 through the Telegram messaging app to transport drugs overseas. The cocaine, worth around RM3.1 million, was allegedly hidden beneath the insoles of the suspects' shoes. Japanese news outlet TBS News reported that the group may have been recruited by a Malaysia-based criminal syndicate. This incident follows a similar case last month where five Malaysians were detained at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta for allegedly smuggling 5kg of etomidate concealed in their shoes. In July, a Malaysian pilot was arrested at the same Indonesian airport for attempting to smuggle over 70,000 ecstasy pills into Indonesia.",
  "summary": "One of them claims he was offered RM8,000 to transport drugs overseas.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "5 Malaysians held in Tokyo over cocaine smuggling attempt",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/12/5-malaysians-held-in-tokyo-over-cocaine-smuggling-attempt-14073240",
        "published": "2026-10-12T23:21:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}