The department’s assistant director-general for enforcement and compliance, Siti Mang, said 17 parcels and several aluminium foil packages containing 638kg of cannabis were discovered during a two-week operation, culminating in the raid on Dec 2.

“This is the largest cannabis seizure recorded by customs this year,” she told a press conference at the department’s narcotics branch in Kampung Jijan, Nilai, Sinar Harian reported.

“However, no arrests were made as the house was empty at the time of the raid. It is believed that the occupants fled upon realising the authorities had arrived.”

She said the house had reportedly been rented by a syndicate since September to serve as a packaging site, with bedsheets used to conceal the cannabis and avoid detection by the authorities.

The cannabis is believed to have been intended for export.

The case is being investigated under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries the death penalty or life imprisonment and a minimum of 12 strokes of the rotan upon conviction.