ACP Jasmin (third right) and his men showing the drugs and other seized items including the detergent packets and pails.
KOTA KINABALU: An Indonesian man has attempted to sneak drugs hidden in detergent packets into a neighbouring country from Sabah’s east coast Tawau district.
The ruse was thwarted by the police after they intercepted the suspect at the public jetty at 12.30pm on Monday (May 27).
Tawau police chief Asst Comm Jasmin Hussin said a team was sent to the location after they received a tip-off about possible drug trafficking activities.
Police then noticed the suspect, a 25-year-old foreigner, who was carrying four pails.
"On further inspection, we found six packets of syabu inside the pails that weighed approximately 4.5kg with a street market value of over RM274,000," he told reporters in Tawau on Wednesday (May 29).
"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.
ACP 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.
"We are currently looking into the syndicate involved in the case,” he said, adding the suspect has been remanded for seven days until June 4 for investigations under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
After the attempt, ACP Jasmin said the police will conduct checks on baggage and pails that come through the public jetty at the old Tawau port from time to time.
He said they would consider using sniffer dogs to show that the police are serious about combating drugs in the district.
