By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Aug 29: Smugglers used gunnysacks and illegal “rat trails” along the Sarawak–West Kalimantan border to move 77.7kg of syabu and 54,785 ecstasy pills into Indonesia, in what police have described as the largest drug bust of the year in West Kalimantan.
According to news portal Beri Kabar, West Kalimantan Narcotics Police director Dedi Supriadi said the drugs were transported by speedboat from Lubok Antu, Sarawak, before the couriers trekked three hours on foot to a handover point in Kapuas Hulu.
On Aug 3, the three Malaysians identified as S, M and F were arrested in Desa Tajum, Badau sub-district, carrying nine gunnysacks stuffed with backpacks. Inside were 78 packets of syabu and 11 boxes of ecstasy.
“This was their modus operandi—using gunnysacks to make the drugs look like ordinary goods while crossing the border,” Dedi said during a press conference in Pontianak on Wednesday (Aug 27).
Five Indonesians waiting with two vehicles were also detained, with investigations revealing both Malaysian and Indonesian couriers were paid only Rp3 million (nearly RM800) each to transport the massive haul.
In a follow-up controlled delivery on Aug 8, police nabbed two more local dealers in Kubu Raya, seizing nearly 1kg of syabu. One of the suspects was a repeat offender.
All suspects are being investigated under Indonesia’s Narcotics Law, specifically Article 112(2) for possession, Article 114(2) for trafficking and Article 132(1) for conspiracy, which carry penalties ranging from long-term imprisonment to the death sentence.
“This is the biggest seizure of 2025, both in terms of syabu and ecstasy,” Dedi confirmed. — DayakDaily
