The six men who were said to be part of a sightseeing group were between 18 and 28 years of age.
They were intercepted at the customs clearance counter upon their arrival from Kuala Lumpur, the report said, quoting a source who said over 8kg of suspected ketamine was found strapped to the bodies of four of them.
The haul had an estimated street value of HK$3.9 million.
“We believe a massive crackdown against underground drug manufacturing plants on the mainland led drug dealers to find new sources of the drug and use new smuggling routing into Hong Kong,” the source told the daily.
He added that it was possible that drug dealers believed members of a tour group would come under less scrutiny.
According to SCMP, the last arrest of Malaysians for drug trafficking at the airport was some 10 years ago.
The men are currently being held for questioning. They have not been charged.
Officers are reportedly looking into whether the drugs were smuggled into Malaysia before being brought to Hong Kong, and how the Malaysians were recruited.
Under Hong Kong’s Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in a dangerous drug carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of HK$5 million.