KUCHING: The Sarawak Customs Department has made its largest drug haul of the year, seizing 60.67kg of methamphetamine worth RM1.9 million.
Its director Norizan Yahya said two local men, aged between 20 and 22, were also arrested in the joint task force on narcotics operation last Thursday (July 4).
Acting on a tip-off, the department’s enforcement and narcotics branches intercepted a drug smuggling attempt outside a cargo company around 3.50 pm.
The suspects were detained after 10 suspicious boxes were found inside a bonded lorry.
“Inspections of the boxes led to the discovery of 60 ‘Guan Yin Wang’ packages containing crystalline substances believed to be methamphetamine.
“The drugs, weighing 60.67kg, carry an estimated street value of RM1,907,600. Each package, labelled with 222 and AAA, is said to be worth around RM30,000.
“Based on the weight of the drugs, it is estimated that 303,000 people have been spared from the scourge of drug abuse,” he told a press conference at Wisma Customs this morning.
Norizan said the drugs and vehicle were seized under Section 30 (1) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
Both suspects are being remanded to facilitate investigations to identify any links to syndicates.
“With such a significant amount of drugs, we do not rule out the possibility of many individuals being involved.
“Investigating officers are looking into several aspects, and we are optimistic that this case will be resolved soon,” he said.
The latest modus operandi is to bring in drugs from Malaya via cargo services by making false declarations on the Customs Form No. 3, and hiding narcotics among household items to evade detection.
Norizan said the case is being investigated under Section 39B(1) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries the death penalty or life imprisonment and lashes of the cane.
