KOTA KINABALU, May 25 — In one of its biggest drug busts this year, officials from the Sabah Customs Department confiscated over 6kg of syabu said to be worth RM3.5 million at the Kota Kinabalu Airport here.
Its director Datuk Janathan Kandok said the drugs were found smuggled on board a flight from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport last weekend.
A 34-year-old local man, suspected to be the owner of the methamphetamine stash, was arrested upon arrival at 3.40pm last Saturday.
“Customs officers found the drugs in the suspect’s luggage during a scan at the arrival hall of the airport. The substance was wrapped separately in six packages of about a kilogram each, totalling 6.24kg,” Janathan told a news conference at the state Customs Department headquarters here.
He said there were similarities to another narcotics case that took place just two days ago on May 19.
Customs officers at the airport found 1kg of syabu hidden inside a Chinese tea package. A local man in his 20s was arrested during the incident.
“We are trying to confirm whether the same syndicate is involved in both these cases,” he said.
Janathan said the drugs could either have been shipped in for local distribution or were en route to a neighbouring country.
This is the second drug smuggling case in the state to be foiled by the Sabah Customs Department.
Malaysia imposes a death penalty on those convicted of drug smuggling under Section 39B (1) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
