SUNGAI PETANI, Oct 13 — The Home Ministry (KDN) will contact Japanese authorities to obtain accurate information on the arrest of Malaysians suspected of involvement in a drug case in Japan.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said he has instructed Bukit Aman Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Hussein Omar Khan to act immediately to establish the facts.
“Complete information on the incident will be conveyed to the media as soon as it is received,” he told the media after the MADANI Townhall session with Universiti Teknologi MARA Kedah students today.
Saifuddin was commenting on the arrest of five Malaysians, including a woman, at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Saturday (October 10) on suspicion of attempting to smuggle about 5kg of cocaine worth ¥120 million (RM3.1 million).
Fuji News Network reported that customs officers uncovered the operation after becoming suspicious of a suspect wearing shoes with unusually thick soles.
The suspects were believed to have concealed the drugs beneath their shoe insoles when boarding a flight from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), before customs inspections upon arrival in Japan exposed the alleged smuggling attempt.
He added that KDN's move is also in line with the approach taken in the case involving the arrest of a Malaysian co-pilot in Jakarta several months ago, as well as the seizure of 521kg of drugs from a private jet in Laos, which was initially alleged to have originated from Malaysia.
Meanwhile, Saifuddin said the implementation of 17 recommendations or initiatives undertaken through a joint committee comprising KDN and the Transport Ministry to strengthen security at KLIA and the country's entry points will continue as planned.
The initiatives are to be implemented in three phases, with the first focusing on destinations identified as high-risk areas or hotspots.
“For destinations listed as hotspots, comprehensive screening of passengers, including body and baggage checks, will be carried out on 100 per cent of passengers,” he said.
However, destinations in Japan, including Tokyo, are not on the original hotspot list.
