Malaysian Customs seize 300kg of cocaine in Port Klang in container loaded with beans

The Malaysian Customs have seized 302.2kg of a white powdery substance, believed to be cocaine, in a container that arrived in West Port, Port Klang, last Tuesday.

The drugs, which originated from Brazil and were en route to a port in Maharashtra, India, were discovered inside bags of beans.

The value of the haul is estimated at RM60 million (S$17.4 million).

The discovery makes it the second time in about a month that the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (RMCD) has busted a major drug smuggling syndicate.

On May 11, The Straits Times reported that the RMCD had seized one tonne of Ecstasy pills concealed in compressors inside a container that arrived at Penang’s North Butterworth Container Terminal on April 25.

Like the earlier Ecstasy seizure, a vessel carrying the 10-container load of beans had made its transit in Singapore waters.

After arriving in Singapore on May 21, the ship, Hyundai Premium, unloaded its cargo onto another vessel, AS Flora, which sailed to Port Klang last Tuesday.

A spokesman for Hyundai Merchant Marine told ST that a vessel did call at Port Klang “but there was no record of what had happened to the 10 containers (of beans)”.

The beans were to be delivered to Chennai-based HSS International, which said it has no news if the containers had been seized by the Malaysian authorities.

An RMCD spokesman said on Friday that the department would be giving a press conference on Monday. But the spokesman did not give further details because of “operational security”.

A source familiar with the investigation told ST: “There is a concern that drug syndicates are now making Malaysia into a major drug hub in South-east Asia for illicit drugs, using air cargo and shipping containers.”

On the same day AS Flora arrived in Port Klang, RMCD officers inspected a shipment of ceramic vases and pots that landed in Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam on Malaysia Airlines Flight MH6127.

An initial test of the white powdery substance found in a container load of beans from Brazil showed it was cocaine. PHOTO: ST READER

They found that five out of 15 boxes contained “white chunks” which were later assessed to be 150kg of ketamine. The street value is not known.

The drugs were hidden inside aluminium foil bags to make it harder for Customs officials to detect.

In March 2021, RMCD seized amphetamine valued at RM5.2 billion from containers in Port Klang, making it the largest drug haul in the country’s history.

Customs director-general Abdul Latif Abdul Kadir said then that 16 tonnes of the drug was concealed inside the castor wheels of three 40-foot containers that arrived at the port from the Middle East.