Photo: THOMAS YONG/The Star
JOHOR BARU: Two youths have been separately detained for attempting to smuggle cannabis buds using courier services, with the drugs disguised as household items such as towels and curtains.
Johor Customs Department director Aminul Izmeer Mohd Sohaimi said the first case involved a 21-year-old man employed at a forwarding company.
“Our officers intercepted two parcels sent through a courier service centre in Senai at about 12.45pm on Nov 26. Inspections revealed 24 packages of cannabis buds weighing 13.04kg in the two parcels, which were bound for the United Kingdom,” he said at a press conference at the department’s headquarters on Thursday (Dec 18).
The drugs were valued at RM1.27mil, and the suspect had declared the contents as curtains to conceal the cannabis.
In a separate case, Aminul Izmeer said the department tracked a parcel from a courier service centre to an apartment in Johor Baru on Nov 19. The parcel, declared as towels, was traced to its receiving address at an apartment, where a 23-year-old Philippines national, employed as a factory worker, was detained.
The parcel contained five small plastic packages of cannabis buds weighing 135gm and worth RM14,112.
Aminul Izmeer said the two cases were not linked and were charged separately at the Kulai and Johor Baru courts. Both suspects are currently awaiting trial.
The cases are being investigated under Section 6 and Section 39(A) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 for possession of dangerous drugs, carrying a jail term of between five years and life imprisonment, as well as a minimum of 10 strokes of the cane.
