KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Customs Department officials believe they have crippled a drug smuggling ring here with the arrest of two men aged 28 and 30 as well as the seizure of some 6kg of syabu (methamphetamine) worth over RM220,000 recently.
Customs personnel suspected that three parcels which arrived at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport here on Dec 30 contained illicit substances.
Sabah Customs assistant director-general Mohd Nasir Deraman said they began surveillance to see who would pick up the consignment and two men turned up to claim one parcel at 12.35pm on Jan 3.
"After checking the parcel, we found drugs believed to be methamphetamine weighing over 3kg, with a street value of RM111,060," he told a press conference at the Customs office in Sepanggar near here on Wednesday (Jan 11).
He added that they also seized two cars belonging to the suspects.
Mohd Nasir said they also discovered the same drugs in the two remaining unclaimed parcels, which contained about 3kg of methamphetamine valued at RM110,550.
"We are trying to locate other suspects in the case," he added.
According to him, the syndicate would use courier services to move the drugs, providing bogus information in the consignment notes such as fake addresses and non-existent companies.
He said the matter was being investigated under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
On a separate matter, Mohd Nasir said Sabah Customs seized over one tonne of drugs worth RM4.34mil last year.
Besides methamphetamine, he said, they also seized ketamine, cannabis and ketum.
"We also made two arrests over syabu and cannabis cases in the middle of last year," he said, adding that the drugs had a street value of RM1.89mil.
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