Financially vulnerable Malaysians targeted for recruitment as drug mules, police say

Bukit Aman Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Hussein Omar Khan demonstrates how drugs are concealed inside shoes before being handed to drug mules during a press conference on the success of the Royal Malaysia Police’s Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department (NCID) in dismantling an organised drug crime network operating locally and internationally at the Kuala Lumpur Police Training Centre, November 6, 2026. — Bernama pic

First Published: Friday, 06 Nov 2026 6:15 PM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 6 — Individuals with financial difficulties, especially those from Sarawak and Pahang, have been targeted by international drug smuggling rings to be recruited as drug mules.

Bukit Aman Narcotics Crime Investigation Department director Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said the syndicate’s activities were exposed following the arrest of four individuals, including the foreign mastermind, in Brickfields here yesterday.

The suspects, three locals acting as recruiters and the mastermind, a man holding a Hong Kong passport, who supplied the drugs, were arrested at a homestay in Brickfields, he added.

“Two pairs of shoes and 450 grams of cocaine believed destined for two drug mules were also seized,” he said at a media conference here today, adding the the local men were arrested under Dangerous Drugs (Special Preventive Measures) Act 1985.

The syndicate has been identified for recruiting five Malaysians arrested by authorities in Soekarno-Hatta  International Airport in Jakarta, Indonesia and five others in Haneda International Airport in Tokyo, Japan in September and October.

In a separate case, Hussein said police seized 109.17 kilogrammes of cannabis and arrested a man in Selangor on October 30, and seized two cars, a motorcycle and various jewellery items.

The man, who tested positive for drugs and has three previous criminal records, has been remanded till November 12 under section 38B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952. — Bernama