MELAKA: A midnight drone flight over Sungai Udang Prison here has uncovered an alleged bid to smuggle tobacco to an inmate, with police arresting a married couple believed to have orchestrated the operation from a nearby rented house.
Melaka Tengah acting OCPD Supt Halim Abas said the 46-year-old husband from Bachok, Kelantan and his 27-year-old wife from Kuala Kemamam, Terengganu were arrested following a report lodged by prison authorities at about 3.10pm on Wednesday (July 15).
He said the incident began at about 1.20am on July 15 when prison officers carrying out technical surveillance detected an unauthorised drone entering the prison compound.
"The drone was seen hovering above the prison's culinary workshop before turning back towards Taman Keris Satria in Sungai Udang here.
"The prison department's drone detector system recorded three separate incursions into the prison compound and accurately identified the drone's flight path, operating time, model and the location of its operator," he said on Friday (July 17).
Acting on the police report, Supt Halim a police team raided a rented house in Taman Keris Satria here that was located about 313 metres from the prison, where they arrested the couple.
He said his men also seized two boxes containing drone sets and spare parts, two one-kg packets of tobacco, a digital weighing scale and four mobile phones believed to have been used in the operation.
Supt Halim said investigations found that the male suspect had flown a "DJI Air 2S" drone from the rented house to identify a suitable drop point inside the prison compound.
"During questioning, the suspect admitted that he intended to smuggle tobacco into the prison later that night for an inmate with whom he had been communicating via a mobile phone.
"The inmate had allegedly instructed the suspect to drop the tobacco at one of the blocks inside the prison while prison wardens are conducting further investigations to identify the inmate involved," he said.
Supt Halim said no prohibited items were recovered from the location where the drone had hovered, indicating that the planned delivery had not been completed before the suspects were apprehended.
He said the woman denied any involvement and claimed she did not know about her husband's alleged activities.
However, it's still unknown whether the couple had rented the house close to the prison to carry out their smuggling activities here.
Supt Halim said the case is being investigated under Section 447 of the Penal Code for criminal trespass and Section 58 of the Prisons Act 1955.
He said the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) would also be notified to investigate the alleged offence of operating a drone without authorisation under Regulation 143 of the Civil Aviation Regulations 2016.
"The investigation is ongoing, including efforts to identify the inmate involved and determine whether others were part of the smuggling operation," he added.
