KUALA LUMPUR: Police are cooperating with their Australian counterparts in the investigations of a Malaysian who was arrested in Melbourne following the country’s biggest ever heroin haul of 451kg.
Federal police narcotics crime investigation department (NCID) director Comm Datuk Razarudin Husain (pix) said yesterday that police are working closely with the Australian federal police to carry out further investigations into the case.
“All necessary action will be taken to ensure drug trafficking activities, which are a national threat, are eradicated. We will not compromise on this,” he said.
Australian news portals reported last Saturday that the seized heroin is estimated to be worth about RM432 million.
The Australian Federal police and Australian Border Force were quoted as saying that the heroin shipment had arrived at the Port of Melbourne on Sept 29, hidden inside a container of ceramic tiles, which was sent from Malaysia.
The shipment was addressed to a Melbourne business. The Australian authorities found the heroin packed in 1,300 packages, stashed in the container.
The man nabbed over the case faces life imprisonment if found guilty.
Australian police did not reveal the identity of the suspect but he is said to have been charged for the offence last Friday, and is expected to appear in court in January next year.
Malaysian and Australian police, particularly the narcotics division, have close working ties and often exchange intelligence to clamp down on illegal drug smuggling activities.
In a separate case in August, five Malaysians of a drug syndicate were arrested in Melbourne for allegedly trafficking methamphetamine into Australia. Over 34kg of drugs worth RM25 million were seized.
In October last year, a 40-year-old former Malindo air stewardess Zailee Zainal was sentenced to almost 10 years imprisonment for smuggling heroin into Australia for about two years for a drug syndicate.
She admitted to have strapped the heroin in between her legs in each of the eight times she had carried out the task.
