By B. Hariharasuthan, NNN-Bernama
Kuala Lumpur : The Federal Police have rubbished claims by the Indian authorities that drug lords are using Malaysia as a transit point to distribute heroin to the international market.
Royal Malaysia Police Narcotics Crime Investigation Department Director Zulhasnan Najib Baharudin says the comment by the New Delhi Customs Department is “baseless”.
“We agree that Malaysia is located near many South East Asia countries and other Asian nations, but this does not mean that it (Malaysia) is becoming a hotspot for drug smugglers, he said here Sunday.
On Saturday, a senior officer from the New Delhi Customs Department was quoted as saying that Kuala Lumpur was being used as a transit point to distribute heroin in South East Asia.
The officer was commenting on last week’s arrest of a 26-year-old Thai woman who was about to board a Malaysia-bound flight with 2.48 kg heroin worth 2.5 million Ringgit (one USD = about 3.19 Ringgit) hidden under the bottom layer of her suitcase at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in the Indian capital.
Zulhasnan told Bernama: “We do not give room to drug smugglers as our intelligence unit always updates us on drug syndicates. We will also know about (the activities of) drug smugglers in other countries.
“The arrest in New Delhi was a rare case… security at our airports is one of the best in the world. He (the New Delhi senior Customs officer) should check with other agencies, like Interpol before concluding.
“Nevertheless, we will refer this matter to the New Delhi Customs and Interpol for further clarification.”
Zulhasnan said Malaysia’s stringent laws against drug trafficking, including the death penalty, was a deterrent to the menace.
He said the recent success in crippling the biggest drug trafficking syndicate in the southern Malaysian city of Johor Bahru was a good example that the department was successful in combating the international drug networks.
In the Johor Bahru operation, police seized drugs worth about 48 million Ringgit as well as cash totalling RM1.09 million in proceeds from the sale of drugs and six cars and arrested 12 suspected syndicate members, including three foreigners.
The arrest came just weeks after New Delhi Customs arrested a 42-year-old Filipino man who was heading to Kuala Lumpur with 70 heroin capsules worth RM800,000 in his stomach.