KUALA LUMPUR — Fourteen Malaysians have been arrested overseas this year after allegedly being used as drug couriers to smuggle drugs out of Malaysia through Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), with 73.17kg of drugs worth RM5.5 million seized in the cases.
Bukit Aman Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department (JSJN) director Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said the arrests, recorded in the first seven months of the year, involved 14 separate cases comprising 11 men and three women.
He said the Malaysians were detained by authorities in six countries and territories, with Taiwan recording the highest number of cases at six, followed by Indonesia with three, the Philippines with two, and Hong Kong, Macau and the Maldives with one case each.
“Based on the cases we have identified, 14 Malaysians were arrested overseas after leaving Malaysia through KLIA,” he told reporters at a press conference on JSJN’s success in dismantling an international drug trafficking syndicate at the Selangor police contingent headquarters in Shah Alam today.
Hussein said Malaysian police had also foiled numerous attempts to smuggle drugs out of the country through KLIA, arresting 51 individuals in 41 cases during the same seven-month period.
The suspects comprised nationals from 13 countries, with British passport holders accounting for the largest group at 14 arrests, followed by Malaysians with 12 and Singaporeans with eight.
French nationals accounted for five arrests, while Indonesia and Hong Kong recorded two arrests each. Japan also recorded two arrests, while Thailand, Ireland, Slovakia, India, Portugal and Uganda each recorded one arrest.
“From the 51 people arrested at KLIA, we seized 1.2 tonnes of drugs worth RM97 million. This demonstrates the success of the police in tackling drug trafficking activities at KLIA,” he said.
Hussein said the figures showed that only about six per cent of drug-smuggling attempts detected by foreign authorities involved Malaysians who had managed to leave the country through KLIA before being arrested overseas.
He said the comparison between the amount of drugs seized at KLIA and the amount successfully taken out of Malaysia before being detected overseas showed that enforcement efforts at the airport were proving effective.
“If we compare these two figures or sets of statistics, about six per cent of the attempts that we seized or successfully foiled were detected overseas.
“This means we have been successful at KLIA based on these statistics,” he said.
Hussein also urged Malaysians to remain vigilant and not fall for offers from drug syndicates promising lucrative payments, incentives or overseas holidays.
He said syndicates often used seemingly attractive offers to lure unsuspecting Malaysians into becoming drug couriers, only for them to become trapped in criminal networks.
“That is the message we want to convey. In every media engagement, we raise this issue so that our citizens remain vigilant and do not become involved or fall victim to syndicates offering various incentives, lucrative payments, holidays and other benefits, only to find themselves trapped in drug syndicates,” he said. — August 11, 2026