KOTA KINABALU: Sabah police have uncovered a new method of drug smuggling, concealed in modified chopping boards.
This led to the arrest of two suspected dealers during a drug bust in Penampang.
The two men, aged 28 and 29, who were nabbed for possessing over 39.5kg of syabu worth around RM1.264mil during a raid in Taman Donggongon near here, Tuesday (Jan 6). They tested positive for Benzodiazepines, a class of prescription depressants.
Police Commissioner Datuk Jauteh Dikun said during the 11.30pm operation, narcotics police raided a house where they found the two suspects and 40 packages containing syabu.
“These drugs were packed in plastic bags and sealed inside chopping boards,” he said during a press conference on Thursday (Jan 8).
Jauteh explained that the chopping boards were cut in half, with one part hollowed out to store drugs and sealed back together.
“This is the first of this kind we have encountered,” he said, adding that the two suspects were from Peninsula Malaysia and had come to Sabah to receive the items that were transported via sea courier services.
He believes these drugs were meant for distribution in Sabah.
Jauteh stated that immediate meetings were planned with various agencies, including courier companies and their Bukit Aman narcotics counterparts, to prevent smuggling activities.
He said the two suspects–one of whom had several previous criminal convictions–have been remanded until Jan 14 while police conduct their investigations under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
Asked if they believe there could be other accomplices or whether this syndicate is linked to international drug dealers, he said they were not ruling out such possibilities.
