Cartels planting foreign "students" for drug deals

KUALA LUMPUR: Nigerian drug kingpins are recruiting their fellow countrymen as agents before planting them in Malaysia as private college students — fully funded by the cartels.
Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Noor Rashid Ibrahim said today that such students abuse their study visas to undertake shady activities here.
He said they are on the payroll of the drug kingpins and play the role of runners, managing drug shipments smuggled into Malaysia by the syndicates.
He said the cartels deliver large amounts of syabu or other drugs camouflaged in food packages, electrical appliances, clothing and secret compartments of luggage using the services of courier companies.
"When they succeed in collecting the shipment here without a hitch, the local agents re-pack the drugs. While a part of it goes for local consumption, the rest is smuggled to neighbouring countries such as Indonesia and Singapore. To smuggle out the drugs, runners of the cartels here lure local mules and dupe them with promises of cash and luxury. They also have mules from our neighbouring countries, those who work here and intend to return home and others who come in as tourist to pick up the drugs. These syndicates have agents in these countries," he said today during a press conference in Bukit Aman.
When asked if the government's liberal policy of allowing foreigners into the country had backfired and burdened enforcement agencies, Noor Rashid said such a notion was untrue.
He said the government's flexible entry policy for foreigners to encourage businessmen, students and tourists into the country was intended for the benefit of Malaysians.
Earlier, Noor Rashid told reporters that between Saturday and Tuesday, about 50kg of drugs worth RM5.7 million were seized in three separate cases at the KL International Airport.
He said on Dec 13, two unclaimed bags that arrived from Cairo on an Egypt Air flight were found to contain 20.2kg of syabu in one of the luggage.
On Tuesday, another box that also arrived as cargo on the same airline was found to be packed with 23kg of syabu.
He said no arrests were made as the claimants of both shipments which were sent from Abuja, Nigeria by the same drug syndicate did not show up to claim the parcels.
However, on Sunday in an unrelated case, Noor Rashid said a 44-year-old Indian national who had arrived from Chennai was arrested at the KLIA after he was found to be in possession of 5.4kg of ephedrine, a substance used to process syabu.
He said the drugs were found in secret compartments in the suspect's luggage.