KUALA LUMPUR, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Malaysian authorities have seized some 300 million ringgit (73 million U.S. dollars) from five international drug trafficking syndicates in separate operations over the past three months, the Royal Malaysian Customs Department said on Wednesday.

Seized drugs are burnt in Yangon, Myanmar, June 26, 2025, the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. (Photo: Xinhua)

The syndicates employed similar smuggling methods by concealing drugs inside shipments of legitimate products and submitting false cargo declarations to evade detection, the department's Director-General Amran Ahmad told a press conference.

The largest seizure was recorded on June 15 at Westports, Port Klang, where customs officers inspected a shipping container and discovered 18,870 cartons of beverages containing liquid suspected to be heroin.

"The inspection of a container led to the discovery of 18,870 beverage cartons containing liquid suspected to be heroin, estimated at 3,396.6 liters and valued at 169.83 million ringgit. The shipment originated from a West Asian country in transit before it was destined for Australia," Amran said.

He said investigations into all five cases are continuing as authorities work to identify the wider criminal networks involved in the international trafficking operations.