TAWAU: A 22-year-old man was arrested with a total of 5.0568kg of methamphetamine (syabu) and 1,001 (3,003gm) of ecstasy pills worth more than RM170,120.60 at the old CIQ jetty here.
Sabah Customs Assistant Director-General Datuk Mohd Nasir Deraman said in the 2.36pm raid on April 30, officials stopped a man who was bringing a large box and acting suspiciously.
“Upon inspection, we found five tea packets filled with what we believe were drugs and other smaller plastic bags filled with ecstasy pills,” he told a press conference here, Saturday.
He said the local suspect was remanded for 14 days, while the drugs were seized to facilitate investigations under the Dangerous Drugs Act.
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The modus operandi used is that the suspect is tasked with carrying the illegal goods packed in tea packets before smuggling them out of Tawau via sea routes to Pulau Sebatik.
Nasir urged the public to work with enforcement authorities in combating crime, including smuggling of contraband such as cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, vehicles, and fireworks, among others.
Those with information of such illegal activities can contact Customs at 1-800-88-8855 (toll free) or go to any nearest Customs office or departments, he added.
On May 1, Tawau police detained six people and seized over 2kg of syabu in a raid.
A team from the district anti-narcotics unit made the arrests after raiding a house in Kampung Inderasabah following a public tip-off about 1.30am. Tawau Police Chief ACP Jasmin Hussin said the suspects tried to flee but were surrounded.
He said the suspects, aged between 20 and 40, comprised a local and five Indonesians.
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