PETALING JAYA: Five Malaysians, including a woman, have been arrested at Haneda Airport in Tokyo for allegedly smuggling about 5kg of cocaine worth 120 million yen (RM3.1 million) into Japan.
The suspects were detained on Saturday after Japanese customs officers discovered the drugs hidden beneath shoe insoles following their arrival on a flight from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
Fuji News Network (FNN) reported that customs officers became suspicious after noticing one traveller wearing shoes with unusually thick soles.
A subsequent inspection uncovered cocaine concealed beneath the insoles of two suspects, prompting officers to identify three other individuals believed to have travelled with them.
Tokyo Reporter, citing Nippon News Network (NNN), reported that the other three suspects had allegedly used the same method to conceal the drugs.
According to TBS News DIG, each suspect was carrying about 1kg of cocaine, with approximately 500g hidden beneath the insole of each shoe.
A 24-year-old suspect reportedly told investigators that he had been offered RM8,000 per person through the Telegram messaging application to transport the drugs overseas.
He also claimed that the shoes used to conceal the cocaine had been supplied to him.
NHK reported that four of the suspects admitted to the allegations during questioning, while a 25-year-old woman denied any involvement, claiming she was unaware that the package she was carrying contained cocaine.
Tokyo Metropolitan Police are investigating whether the group had been recruited by a Malaysia-based criminal syndicate to carry out international drug smuggling.
