ANN/THE STAR – An Indonesian man attempted to smuggle drugs concealed in detergent packets into a neighbouring country from Tawau district on the east coast of Sabah in Malaysia.
Law enforcement authorities intervened and apprehended the suspect at the public jetty around 12.30pm on Monday. Tawau police chief Jasmin Hussin said that upon receiving a tip-off regarding potential drug trafficking activities, a team was dispatched to the area.
Police noticed the suspect, a 25-year-old foreigner, carrying four pails.
“On further inspection, we found six packets of syabu inside the pails that weighed approximately 4.5 kilogrammes with a street market value of over MYR274,000,” he told reporters in Tawau yesterday.
“The suspect’s modus operandi was hiding the drugs inside plastic detergent packets before placing them inside the pails to avoid detection by the authorities,” he added.
Jasmin said the suspect had come from the nearby Kinabatangan district.
He said police believed the man intended to smuggle the drugs into a neighbouring country through Tawau.
He added the suspect did not have a criminal record and tested negative in a urine test for drugs.
