A Nigerian drug syndicate has been found dissolving drugs believed to be cocaine with liquid coconut milk in a can with pieces of pineapple as the latest tactic to smuggle drugs to avoid detection.

Bukit Aman Narcotics CID director Datuk Noor Rashid Ibrahim said the tactic was foiled by the Selangor Customs Department after detaining a ship carrying a container cargo in which a section contained drugs worth RM22 million.

"Based on information from United States Drug Enforcement Administration (USDEA), the ship which arrived on Monday (Nov 12) at Port Klang was filled with 980 cartons of cans containing coconut milk and pieces of pineapple.

"Sixteen cartons comprising 384 cans of coconut milk were identified as mixtures with 400 grammes of cocaine in each can by the Chemistry Department," he told a media conference here Monday.

He said the container which originated from Guyana in South America was to be sent to Mozambique with South Africa as a transit point to transfer the container into another ship.