KANGAR: The Customs Department has foiled a drug smuggling operation after uncovering 61.42kg of cannabis hidden at an abandoned jetty and on a rocky island off Kuala Perlis.
Perlis Customs director Mohammad Furiman Hattar said the cannabis, worth RM191,544, was seized in two separate operations by the Kuala Perlis Marine Enforcement Branch.
He said the syndicate’s modus operandi was to bring drugs from a neighbouring country, less than 1.5km from the state’s maritime border, before leaving them at secluded locations for others to collect.
“In the first incident, at 9.30pm on Aug 28, the operations team found two sacks containing 25kg of compressed cannabis worth RM75,000 on an abandoned jetty platform along Sungai Kuala Perlis, near Taman Pelangi.
“The second case occurred at 8.15pm on Oct 19, when an inspection at Pulau Batu Layang uncovered three sacks containing 36.42kg of cannabis worth RM116,544.
“The drugs were idden behind a metal plate on the rocky island’s platform to avoid detection from the sea,” he said at a press conference at the Perlis Customs Complex.
He said the drugs seized in the two operations could supply an estimated 199,000 drug users and were believed to have been intended for markets outside Perlis, including the Klang Valley.
The case is being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act.
In a separate operation on Oct 30, the department foiled an attempt to smuggle 1,001kg of ketum leaves worth RM10,010 into a neighbouring country at Ladang Kenaf, Lembah Chuping.
Furiman said three teams from the Padang Besar Narcotics Unit chased a four-wheel-drive travelling at high speed towards the Malaysia-Thailand border security route around 9.30am.
“However, our teams managed to locate the vehicle within 15 minutes by following tyre tracks on the soft ground.
“They seized 31 white sacks containing ketum leaves from the vehicle, but the driver had fled into a nearby forest,” he said.
He added that the department also seized an undeclared Mini Cooper S Clubman worth RM33,000, with estimated duties and taxes of RM51,942, in Bandar Bayan Baru, Penang, at 4pm on Oct 28.