Syabu worth RM1.15m seized, four detained
Published on: Tuesday, July 14, 2020
By: Lagatah Toyos
Abdullah (centre) and his officers showing the seized drugs.
TAWAU: Customs detained four people and seized 23kg of Methamphetamine estimated worth RM1.15 million in separate Ops Ice Breaker II and Ops Benteng conducted between July 1 and 4. Sabah Zone Customs Chief, Assistant Director Datuk Abdullah Jaapar said the arrests and seizures were the fourth recorded in two weeks, including 50kg Syabu seized in Sandakan Airport on June 23.ADVERTISEMENT
He said the latest seizures involved a case in Tawau and two at Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA).
“On July 1 at 11.40am in Tawau Airport, a 53-year-old man from Kuala Lumpur was detained on a commercial plane with luggage believed to contain 4,193kg of Methamphetamine worth RM209,650 and further investigations led to the arrest of a 49-year-old woman in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan.
“On July 2, Customs officers inspected a plastic bag left in a restroom of the KKIA arrival hall containing eight packets of methamphetamine weighing 8kg and estimated worth RM400,000.
“Two days later, Customs personnel arrested two men in their 40s at KKIA and seized 11kg of methamphetamine estimated worth RM550,000 hidden in two luggages at 12.34am,” he told a press conference, Monday.ADVERTISEMENT
Abdullah said the three cases were being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code which carries mandatory death, if convicted.
He said the airspace and entrances at all airports are always tightly controlled but the smuggling activity shows there is still determination by them.
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He warned that should any enforcement personnel be involved in releasing such suspects at the entrance, there would be no compromise and they would face action under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
Apart from that, Customs also confiscated liquor on June 29 and July 7 at Sepanggar Port and the Kota Kinabalu industrial area, which involved various brands including Tiger and Carlsberg and with an overall worth of RM1.27mil.