Chennai police bust Malaysia-based drug smuggling ring

Kuala Lumpur - Police in India have exposed a drug ring based at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), which was leading an international smuggling operation between Chennai and Malaysia.

This followed the arrest of a 36-year-old Indian at Chennai airport last Thursday, who was on his way to board a flight to Kuala Lumpur, the Star reports.

Malaysian-bound drug consignments worth about RM1million were seized from the check-in luggage of the suspect, the report said.

India's Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) obtained information from the suspect.

"The suspect told us he would walk out of KLIA without his luggage and someone else would collect his luggage," DRI Additional Director-General Chennai C. Rajan said.

"Our intelligence report says this could be their (syndicate's) modus operandi and a gang at the airport must be helping him," he said.

DRI officials discovered 905grams of heroin and two kilograms of ephedrine, all concealed in polythene bags and wrapped in brown paper, the report said.