The Royal Malaysian Customs Department thwarted an attempt to smuggle in drug into the country with the seizure of 3.319kg of syabu, worth RM630,610, at the Bukit Kayu Hitam Immigration Complex last Wednesday.

Kedah Customs director Datuk Abd Aziz Abdul Latif said a 31-year-old Vietnamese man, who was from Bangkok, Thailand, and heading to Kuala Lumpur, was detained in the 4.40pm incident.

He said the drug was found when Customs official scanned a sling bag belonging to the suspect and found the image suspicious.

They searched the bag, which had been modified and found two packages containing crystal powder, believed to be syabu, in it, he told a media conference here today.

He said the suspect, a factory worker in Vietnam, and believed to be a drug mule, was travelling on a bus.

The drug was believed obtained from a syndicate in Bangkok and for distribution in the Klang Valley area, he added.

Last year, Abdul Aziz said the Kedah Customs Department seized 74.97kg of syabu, worth RM14.287 million, and 10.322kg of ketamine, worth RM361,270.