Police Bust RM21.6m Cannabis Syndicate Exploiting Penang Airport as Alternative Transit to Europe

SHAH ALAM, Aug 11 — Heightened security measures at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) have forced international drug smuggling networks to seek alternative transit hubs, prompting a syndicate to utilize Penang International Airport in Bayan Lepas to move narcotics into Europe.

Bukit Aman Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department (NCID) director Datuk Hussein Omar Khan disclosed the findings following the execution of Op Lejogaster, a major police operation that crippled an international drug ring attempting to traffic roughly 270 kilogrammes of cannabis buds valued at RM21.62 million overseas.

The multi-state operation, conducted between July 12 and August 3 following intensive intelligence gathering and surveillance by Bukit Aman NCID, led to the arrest of nine individuals—comprising eight foreign men and one Malaysian citizen aged between 22 and 51—and the rescue of four foreign nationals at risk of being exploited as drug mules.

“When KLIA becomes ‘hot’, they may use other airports. These syndicates are always looking for opportunities and will exploit every avenue available, whether by land, sea or air,” Hussein said during a press conference detailing the operation’s success today.

Police intelligence revealed that the syndicate had been active since April, sourcing cannabis buds from a neighboring country before smuggling them across Peninsular Malaysia’s northern border. The illicit drugs were stored in temporary safehouses located in terrace residential areas near airports in Bayan Lepas and Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, before being distributed to drug mules for outward international flights.

The operation unfolded across three coordinated raids in Penang, Negeri Sembilan, and Selangor. The initial raid on July 12 in front of a hotel lobby in Bayan Lepas resulted in the arrest of two men and the discovery of two bags containing 60 packets of cannabis buds weighing 31.7 kilogrammes inside a Mazda CX-5. A subsequent search of a nearby house in Bayan Lepas uncovered another 60 packets weighing 31 kilogrammes.

Further intelligence led officers to execute a second raid on August 3 at a residential property in Taman Bukit Citra, Mantin, Negeri Sembilan, where one man was apprehended along with 10 bags containing 170 packets of cannabis buds weighing 175.8 kilogrammes. A follow-up operation in Sepang, Selangor, led to the detention of five foreign men, four of whom were identified as potential drug mules recruited by the syndicate.

On the same day, police conducted a third raid at Penang International Airport, arresting another foreign national and seizing two bags containing 60 packets of cannabis buds weighing 31.6 kilogrammes. Across all three raids, authorities seized 270 kilogrammes of cannabis buds alongside a small quantity of methamphetamine intended for personal use.

According to Hussein, the network was masterminded by a Portuguese national coordinating activities from Europe, who arranged for individuals to travel to Malaysia to act as couriers transporting narcotics to European destinations, primarily London. Among the eight foreign suspects detained, five held Portuguese passports, two were Singaporean, and one was from Myanmar.

“Most of their routes were through Bayan Lepas and KLIA, with some travelling directly while others transited in Singapore. Most routes were to London, where another syndicate would receive them,” Hussein explained.

The case is being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries the death penalty or life imprisonment and a mandatory minimum of 12 strokes of the cane upon conviction.

–NMT