BALIK PULAU, Nov 8 — International drug traffickers are now using new tactics run their illegal trade, directing mules to move between several countries before heading to their actual destination, presumably to shake off suspicion from the authorities, Penang Southwest District police chief Supt Mohd Hatta Md Zain said today.

The observation comes following the November 6 arrest of a 38-year-old Indonesian drug mule at the Penang International Airport who was allegedly trying to smuggle RM360,000 worth of drugs into the country.

“We found about 1.7kg of syabu or methamphetamine hidden inside a secret compartment within her luggage,” Mohd Hatta said in a press conference at the Southwest district police headquarters here.

The suspect, a mother of one, has been on several different flights starting from Indonesia before arriving here to allegedly deliver the drugs here.

“She boarded the plane from Indonesia and transit at KLIA before heading to Hong Kong and from there, she flew to Guang Zhou where we believe she picked up the stash of drugs and then she flew back to Hong Kong and from there, she came direct to Penang where we arrested her upon arrival,” he said.

The police also recovered RM830,000 worth of foreign cash of different denominations and currencies that include USD, Rupiah, RMB, HKD, Peso and Dong from her luggage.

“The suspect has been remanded until November 13 for further investigations,” he said.

The case will be investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act for drug trafficking which carries a mandatory death sentence upon conviction.

Mohd Hatta said international drug trafficking syndicates are adopting new methods to traffic drugs between countries.

“They no longer use the conventional methods of using a local mule to traffic drugs into a country but a mule from another country to pick up the supply from a different country and bring it to another country like this case,” he said.

Following this arrest, the police narcotics division will tighten security at the Penang International Airport to ensure drugs are not smuggled in through that method.