By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, July 20: The Royal Malaysian Customs Department (JKDM) Sarawak has foiled two attempts to smuggle drugs involving checked baggage at Kuching International Airport (KIA), with total seizures valued at approximately RM1.32 million.
According to Sarawak Customs director Datuk Norizan Yahya, the operation, conducted by the Sarawak JKDM Narcotics Branch on July 9, also led to the arrest of two Malaysian men who had arrived on a domestic flight from Johor Bahru.
He said that in the first case, at about 9.10pm, officers detained a man after he aroused suspicion by removing the baggage tag from his suitcase before taking it into a restroom near the arrival hall.
“The action was believed to have been intended to prevent him from being identified as the owner of the baggage.
“A search uncovered 13 Chinese tea packets suspected of containing methamphetamine, weighing approximately 13,200 grams and with an estimated street value of RM660,000,” he said in a press conference today, as reported by TVS.
In the second operation, which involved the same flight on the same day, another Malaysian man was arrested after allegedly employing a similar modus operandi.
Norizan said officers found 13 Chinese tea packets containing approximately 13,178 grams of methamphetamine, as well as one red packet containing 83 Eramin 5 tablets.
“The total value of the drugs seized in the second case is estimated at RM660,560,” he said.
According to him, both suspects used the same method of smuggling drugs into Sarawak via a domestic flight from Peninsular Malaysia before removing the baggage tags to mislead enforcement officers.
Both suspects were arrested together with the seized items for further investigation. The case is being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which provides for the death penalty or life imprisonment, as well as not fewer than 15 strokes of the cane if the death penalty is not imposed. — DayakDaily
