JOHOR BAHRU, Oct 16 — Five Malaysians arrested for concealing five kilograms of cocaine in their shoe soles at Haneda International Airport in Tokyo, Japan, on October 10 are believed to have been drug mules paid RM8,000 each.

Bukit Aman Narcotics Crime Investigation Department (NCID) director Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said the suspects, aged between 19 and 26, were each given the shoes by a drug syndicate that is still being identified.

“We believe they (the suspects) were aware of what they were carrying, which is an illegal substance,” he told a press conference at the Johor Contingent Police Headquarters here today.

He said police were investigating whether all the suspects were directly involved in the syndicate and whether they had previously travelled to other countries using the same modus operandi.