Kuala Lumpur  - Malaysian police detained a Philippine national they said was carrying clothing soaked in 5 kilograms of liquid cocaine while attempting to board a bus to neighbouring Thailand, news reports said Wednesday.

The 45-year-old mother of four was allegedly caught Friday in Kuala Lumpur with 23 cocaine-soaked shirts wrapped in plastic bags and packed into a luggage bag, the Star daily said.

The drugs, said to be worth more than 3.5 million ringgit (950,000 dollars), were believed to have come from South Africa and to be headed for Thailand, the report said.

Investigations revealed that the woman was paid a minimum of 10,000 ringgit for each trip she made for an international drug ring, city police chief Mohamad Sabtu Osman said.

The woman, who claimed to be working as a nanny for a family in China, admitted to making two other similar drug trips to Malaysia, he said.

The drug syndicate was believed to be based in Malaysia and headed by a group of Africans, Mohamad Sabtu said.

"The cotton fabric of the blouses allows the drugs to remain intact within the clothing until they are squeezed out," the police chief was quoted as saying. "Alternatively, they can also microwave the clothing and collect its vapour."

Malaysia's tough drug laws mandate death by hanging for those found guilty of bringing in most types of illegal drugs. (dpa)