Japanese held for drug smuggling in Malaysia claims she was duped

Nov 4 07:48 AM US/Eastern

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SEPANG, Malaysia, Nov. 4 (AP) - (Kyodo)—A Japanese woman facing the death sentence for trafficking drugs into Malaysia claims she was duped by a Middle Eastern man into delivering what she thought were "books" to the country, an investigating officer said Wednesday.

Mariko Takeuchi, a 35-year-old former nurse, was arrested last Friday at Kuala Lumpur International Airport upon arrival from Dubai.

While scanning through three pieces of her luggage, Customs Department officers found 4.7 kilograms of methylamphetamine hidden under the lining of her bag.

According to the investigating officer who requested anonymity, Takeuchi claimed during interrogation that a man had passed her the bag.

She said she was told that it contained books and a handphone and that "someone would contact her on that handphone and collect the bag from her," the officer said.

Takeuchi's current passport lists her registered domicile as Aomori, though she told investigators she is from Tokyo.

It shows she flew out of Tokyo's Narita airport to KLIA five times between September and October, all via Dubai, though she told investigators she had visited Malaysia at least 10 times in total.

Mohamed Sobri Awang, deputy director of the Customs Department's Narcotics Division, said this is the first time the department has nabbed a Japanese for drug trafficking.

Between January and October this year, the department's officers apprehended 32 foreigners, who in addition to Takeuchi include 22 suspects from India, six from Iran and three from Pakistan.

During the same period, it confiscated 43 million ringgit ($12.5 million) worth of drugs, including heroin and opium. That was a 144 percent increase from the 17.6 million ringgit worth of drugs that the Customs Department seized in 2008.

The increase was despite Malaysia having one of the world's toughest antidrug laws. Anyone caught trafficking drugs here faces a mandatory death sentence.

"They take the risk because the return is very lucrative," Sobri said, noting that methlyamphetamine, also known as "ice," is being traded in Malaysia at 250,000 ringgit per kilogram.

"That is the wholesale price. If they pack them into small quantity and sell them on the street, the value is much more."

The drug that Takeuchi had with her is worth an estimated 1.2 million ringgit, he said.

Sobri showed Kyodo News the three pieces of luggage and the two packets of drugs that customs officers seized from Takeuchi. The bag where the drug was found contained mainly thick, heavy clothing more suited for cold weather than Malaysia's tropical heat. In another bag, there were four handphones and a laptop among other items.

It was probably bad luck for Takeuchi to arrive in KLIA on the particular day when the customs officers were conducting a special operation.

Normally, they only randomly scan the bags of arriving passengers, but during the week in question, Sobri said, they were scanning luggages of all passengers.

He said officials are now trying to determine if Takeuchi is involved in any drug syndicate.

Based on the big amount she was carrying, he said, Malaysia could merely be a transit country for the drug, and it could have been meant for other places like Australia or Hong Kong.

While in detention, Takeuchi has been allowed to telephone her mother in Japan, an official said. He said that during their half-hour talk, she was in tears and kept apologizing to her mother "for causing problem to the family."

Takeuchi faces a gloomy future.

Sobri said customs officials plan to apply to the court on Thursday to extend her detention for six more days to facilitate investigation, and she could be charged in court by next week for drug trafficking.

Due to the severity of her case, she will not be allowed bail pending trial. If convicted, she would be hanged.

With the gallows shadowing her, Takeuchi faces years of imprisonment as her case wades through Malaysia's snail-paced legal system.