Woman caught in Malaysia trying to smuggle heroin in durians

PETALING JAYA - A 34-year-old woman was detained after she was found to have hidden drugs in hollowed-out durians that she tried to smuggle out from the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah (Subang) airport, Bernama news agency reported.

According to Customs Department officials, she tried to pass off 20 polystyrene foam boxes that were meant to be shipped to Hong Kong as frozen durians.

Central Zone Customs assistant director-general, Datuk Zulkarnain Mohamed Yusuf, said the suspected 6.13kg heroin stash was valued at RM953,529 (S$311,500) was discovered at the airport during a raid on a cargo company on Monday (Oct 14).

At a press conference on Friday, Mr Zulkarnain said that after checking the 20 boxes, four of them were found to contain white-coloured compact packets wrapped in clear plastic, believed to be heroin, within the frozen fruits.

He said the woman has been placed in remand for five days for investigation under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, Bernama reported.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.