SHAH ALAM, March 15 (Bernama) -- An Iranian's attempt to smuggle in 2.2kg of drugs worth RM550,000, using a corset around his waist, was foiled by police at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang on Thursday.

Selangor Narcotics Department chief ACP Nordin Kadir said it was a new tactic used by drug smuggling syndicates, especially by Iranians, after many prior attempts to use secret compartments in their luggage for such purposes, had failed.

A 41-year-old, Iranian man, who arrived here from Dubai at about 10.30pm on Thursday, was behaving suspiciously at the baggage claim area and when police conducted a check on him, a corset that he was wearing around his waist, was filled with 2.2kg of syabu, he said.

"This is a new tactic used by drug smuggling syndicates because attempts to do so using other methods had failed," he told reporters here today.

He added that on the same day, police detained another Iranian man, aged 40, a carpet seller, at his apartment in Taman Tun Abdul Razak in Ampang, Selangor and seized eight bottles of syabu weighing 170gm, worth about RM51,000.

Nordin said the man had been living in Malaysia for five years.

Meanwhile, a Petaling Jaya Narcotics Unit raided a house in Petaling Jaya at about 11.10am yesterday and seized 1.2 kg ketamin, 7,000 Eramin 5 pills and RM67,000 cash, believed to be money from the sales of drugs and detained a 35-year-old man, a local.

The drugs are worth about RM152,500 on the streets, he said.

Nordin said after carrying out investigations on the man, police managed to arrest another man, aged 40 at about 5.10pm yesterday, at a car park in Taman Muda, Petaling Jaya.

The man, also a local who was in a Proton Saga had tried to escape but police managed to detain him before finding 10,000 Eramin 5 pills in a bag and another 2kg of syabu on the front passenger seat.

He added that from Thursday to yesterday, police had seized drugs and pills worth about RM1.04 million.