Malaysian police seize 12 tons of drugs worth 500 million U.S. dollars
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Topics: MALAYSIA DRUGS
Hamid explained that the shipment had arrived in Malaysia in August, before police carried out their operation on Sept. 10, raiding several areas of Penang state in the country's north.
He said the drug syndicate had used a new technique to disguise the drugs, mixing the 12 tonnes of cocaine with charcoal, making detection difficult.
"Normal drug detecting technology would not be able detect it, but our chemistry department has advanced technology that was able to detect the cocaine among the charcoal.
"This was a sophisticated technique. The chemistry department confirmed the material seized was in fact cocaine," he said.
Police had also arrested a 29-year-old suspect believed to be in charge of arrangements for the shipment, with the suspect testing positive for drug use.
The value of the drugs makes it the largest ever bust on Malaysian soil, Hamid said, adding that the drugs were being transited through the country and were not believed to be for local drug addicts. ■