Three men who tried to fool the authorities by taking advantage of the Chinese New Year festive season to smuggle drugs worth RM225,000 using Mandarin orange boxes, were busted by police in Jalan Imbi here on Friday.

Kuala Lumpur narcotics chief ACP Kang Chez Chiang said police who acted on a tip off from the public, detained the three men aged between 31 and 41, while waiting for their client at a restaurant.

During the raid, police found five plastic packets of white substances, believed to be heroin, weighing 2,250 grams (worth about RM225,000), hidden in red mandarin orange boxes.

Kang said police also seized two cars, RM1,154 cash and five hand phones from the trio.

He added that two of the three suspects also tested positive for drugs and all three would be investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 which carries the mandatory death sentence upon conviction.

- Bernama