LONDON (The Straits Times/ANN): Four Malaysians were arrested after the authorities foiled their alleged attempt to smuggle 86kg of cannabis buds with an estimated value of RM8.3 million (S$2.58 million) into Britain.
The Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (AKPS) said on Thursday (Nov 6) that the four – two men and two women in their 20s, said to be couples, were supposed to fly from Penang International Airport to Manchester on the night of Nov 3.
They had packed the drugs in their luggage.
Their attempt was detected when the luggage of one of the couples, who were not allowed to board the plane by the airline, was rescanned before being allowed to be taken out through the arrivals’ hall.
AKPS did not say why the airline – which was not named – did not allow the couple to fly.
This led to the arrest of the duo and the other couple, who had checked in earlier.
Pictures taken by AKPK showed that one of the bags was filled to the brim with the drugs packed in airtight bags.
The agency said in a statement that the four suspects admitted they had received job offers through TikTok.
“They were offered work to carry goods while travelling, and they will be paid a lucrative salary of between RM8,000 and RM11,000,” the agency said.
It added that the suspects are believed to have been used as drug mules.
The agency said the case has been handed over to the Malaysian Customs Department’s narcotics division for further investigation.
AKPK also advised the public not to be easily deceived by lucrative online job offers and to be vigilant when interacting with strangers. - The Straits Times/ANN
