JOHOR BARU: A Singaporean boat owner and his compatriot found in possession of cough medicines worth over RM75,000 in the Johor Straits have been arrested by the police.On the pretext of being out fishing on the Singapore-registered boat, the two allegedly hid five barrels containing black liquid believed to be cough medicine on the vessel, said Johor Baru South OCPD Asst Comm Raub Selamat.
He said the Marine Police Region II had launched a special operation that led to the arrest at around 6pm on Tuesday.
The suspects, aged 45 and 50, were detained at the Senibong cove marina jetty, near Masai here.“Initial investigations showed that the item – a controlled drug in Malaysia – found concealed in the boat belongs to the two suspects.“We believe they had received their supply here before trafficking it overseas,” he told a press conference at the Johor Baru South police district headquarters here yesterday.
ACP Raub said the suspects were trying to use the leisure boat, owned by one of them, meant for fishing activities to smuggle out the cough mixture.
The two were found to have the necessary documents to cross into Malaysian waters for leisure fishing earlier this month.
“We believe this was part of their ploy to cover up their true intention of smuggling out the cough medicine and avoid being caught by Malaysian authorities,” he said, adding that one of the suspects also tested positive for drugs.ACP Raub also said the two suspects’ role was merely to transport the controlled drug from here to the international market.
He said the Johor Baru South police will work closely with their Singapore counterparts in investigating the case.
