Sarawakians warned against paid drug runs after five held in Japan over 5kg cocaine

Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah

By DayakDaily Team

KUCHING, Oct 15: Sarawakians have been warned against accepting payment to carry items overseas after five Sarawakians were detained in Japan over an alleged attempt to smuggle five kilogrammes of cocaine hidden in shoe insoles.

Minister for Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah said the case was particularly worrying as it involved women and Sarawakians, with none of those involved reportedly having previous criminal records.

She said one of the individuals had admitted to accepting an offer of payment to transport drugs overseas.

“The main concerns in this case are that those detained had no criminal records, were reportedly travelling to Japan for a holiday, and one of them admitted to accepting an offer of payment to carry drugs overseas,” she said in a statement today.

Fatimah, who is also Sarawak-level One Stop Committee (OSC) chairperson for addressing drug and substance abuse issues, urged the public to be cautious of overseas holiday offers that require them to carry belongings for others.

She warned that accepting such offers could lead to individuals becoming drug mules without fully understanding the risks involved.

She also advised the public not to be easily tempted by promises of lucrative payments for transporting prohibited substances abroad.

Families were urged to monitor relatives whose overseas trips were sponsored by individuals they did not know.

“To address drug mule activities and drug abuse, our ministry will expand public awareness and advocacy efforts through the ‘Randau Pembangunan Sosial’ and ‘Randau Solidariti Komuniti’ programmes, as well as forums organised by the Sarawak One Stop Committee (OSC) for Addressing Drug and Substance Abuse.

“These efforts will be carried out at workplaces, educational institutions and grassroots communities across all districts, in collaboration with OSC members, community and ethnic leaders, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs),” she said.

On Oct 14, five Sarawakians, comprising two men and three women, were detained by Japanese authorities on Oct 10 after 5 kilogrammes of cocaine were found hidden in the insoles of shoes they were wearing at Haneda International Airport in Tokyo.

Bukit Aman Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said they were among six Malaysians aged between 19 and 26 who had departed from Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 2 for Japan on Oct 9, reportedly for a holiday. The sixth individual was not detained and had returned to Malaysia.

All six had no previous criminal records. — DayakDaily