Four men and one woman from Malaysia were arrested at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport after Japanese customs officials uncovered a staggering five kilograms of cocaine, worth an estimated 120 million yen (RM3.1 million). The illicit substance was cleverly hidden in the sneakers worn by all five suspects.
According to Berita Harian, the group had reportedly flown in from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) before their drug smuggling attempt came to an abrupt halt during routine customs checks upon arrival in Japan.
The tell-tale soles that blew their cover
Citing Fuji News Network (FNN), Berita Harian said the operation was uncovered after customs officers became suspicious of one of the suspects, who was wearing shoes with unusually thick soles. An initial inspection found cocaine hidden beneath the insoles of two suspects’ shoes.
Customs officers later identified three more individuals believed to have arrived with them. It was also reported that the three other individuals were also found to have concealed cocaine using the same method.
According to Berita Harian, citing TBS News DIG, each suspect was allegedly carrying approximately one kilogram of cocaine, with 500g concealed beneath the insole of each shoe.
Telegram job offer and RM8,000 payoff gone wrong
One of the five suspects, Mohamad Danial Farhan Abdul Rahman, 24, allegedly claimed that he had been offered RM8,000 per person to smuggle drugs overseas after being approached through Telegram.
According to the report, Mohamad Danial was also given a pair of shoes to conceal the drugs.
Meanwhile, NHK reported that four of the suspects admitted to the allegations during questioning, while a 25-year-old woman denied them. The woman claimed that she was unaware the package she was carrying contained cocaine.
Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police Department is investigating the possibility that the group was recruited by a Malaysia-based criminal syndicate to carry out international drug smuggling operations.
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