PUTRAJAYA: The Royal Malaysian Customs Department foiled an attempt to smuggle in 6.13kg of cocaine worth RM1.22mil that was hidden inside the hand-carry luggage of a passenger at Terminal 1 of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang on Jan 9.

       The Royal Malaysian Customs Department's Central Zone Enforcement Operations director, Wong Pun Sian, said the drugs were found inside seven cosmetic boxes containing gel-like substances that looked like soap inside the hand-carry luggage brought in by a French passenger who arrived on a flight from Sao Paolo, Brazil.

       Initial investigations revealed that the substance found inside the luggage was cocaine.

       "The modus operandi of the syndicate is to conceal the soap-like drugs inside cosmetic boxes of various colours to fool the authorities. The hand-carry luggage containing the drugs is brought in by a senior passenger who is travelling to the country alone," he said in a statement today.

       The individual was detained for questioning and investigations under Section 39B(1)(b) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries the mandatory death penalty or life imprisonment and not less than 12 strokes of the rotan if the death penalty is not meted out upon conviction.

       Wong said that based on the weight of the drugs seized, the drugs could fix the cravings of 30,685 drug addicts. – Bernama