Bukit Aman: Drug rings recruit ordinary travellers as mules to send cannabis to Europe

Police (PDRM) say drug syndicates moving cannabis to Europe increasingly recruit everyday travellers as mules rather than rely on airline pilots. Bukit Aman's Narcotics Crime Investigation Department director, Datuk Hussein Omar Khan, briefed reporters after visiting a narcotics rehabilitation centre in Bachok and described the trend as a response to high demand for cannabis flowers in European markets.

How syndicates recruit and move drugs

Police described the recruitment method as offering unusually large sums of money, free flight tickets or holiday packages as incentives to carry certain luggage overseas. Hussein warned citizens to be suspicious of such offers and to decline involvement. He said syndicates use multiple transport modes—air, sea and land—and adapt to exploit available routes.

Hussein would not elaborate on how traffickers bypassed security controls at Kuala Lumpur International Airport because the Home Ministry is reviewing measures to strengthen security at all entry and exit points. He confirmed arrests linked to smuggling at KLIA and at Sultan Azlan Shah Airport in Ipoh, and he described traffickers as increasingly sophisticated. The PDRM continues tactical operations and investigations alongside ministry-level security reviews.

The police account references a co-pilot detained in Jakarta and mentions other recent airport-linked arrests. Authorities have detained individuals to assist investigations, and press reports linked to the case included detentions at Kuala Lumpur and Sultan Azlan Shah Airports. These arrests are presented as part of ongoing efforts to disrupt smuggling networks that use a mix of couriers and transit routes.

• Treat unsolicited offers of large payments, free trips or requests to transport unknown luggage with suspicion.
• If you are asked to carry someone else's bag or to accept travel that seems unusually lucrative, decline and report it to authorities.
• Be aware that smuggling operations adapt: they can move via air, waterways or land so vigilance applies to all travel modes.

PDRM says the bulk of Europe-bound cannabis smuggling by air is carried out by recruited civilians rather than airline staff, and it urges Malaysians to refuse attractive-sounding offers that ask them to transport luggage or travel for pay. Authorities report arrests at Malaysian airports and note a broader review of security at entry and exit points as traffickers change tactics.