KUCHING, JULY 20 — The Royal Malaysian Customs Department (JKDM) Sarawak foiled an attempt to smuggle drugs worth RM1.32 million through the Kuching International Airport (KIA) with the arrest of two local men in two separate cases on July 9.
Sarawak Customs Director Datuk Norizan Yahya said in the first case at 9.10pm, a team of JKDM Narcotics Branch officers arrested a local man who arrived at KIA on a flight from Johor Bahru.
He said the suspect acted suspiciously when he removed the luggage tag before taking his luggage to the toilet near the arrivals hall, believed to avoid inspection by authorities and make it difficult to track down the owner of the luggage.
“The results of the inspection of the luggage found 13 packages of Chinese tea suspected of containing dangerous drugs such as methamphetamine with an estimated weight of 13.2 kilograms (kg) and an estimated value of RM660,000,” he said at a press conference on the case here, today.
He said about 10 minutes later, another local man was also arrested after being found to be using the same modus operandi of removing the luggage tag to avoid being detected as the owner of the luggage.
“The results of the inspection found 13 packages of Chinese tea suspected of containing methamphetamine weighing 13.2 kg as well as one red package containing 83 Erimin 5 pills with a total value of RM660,560 seized,” he said.
He said initial investigations found that both cases were linked and the suspect was believed to have been paid RM1,000 for each kilogram of drugs successfully smuggled.
The case is being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 which provides for the death penalty or life imprisonment and if not sentenced to death, a maximum of 15 strokes of the cane can be imposed if convicted.
— BERNAMA
