GEORGE TOWN – Police have detained two fishermen at the Sg Gelugor fishermen’s jetty, and seized from them 10.5kg of syabu worth RM472,500, on Sunday.
Northeast district police chief Soffian Santong said the suspects are a 52-year-old local man and a 36-year-old Thai national.
He said the two fishermen were believed to have sailed in from Langkawi, Kedah – a 10-hour journey just to bring the drugs to Penang.
“The syabu is packed in packages of Chinese tea, and hidden under a fishing net,” he said, adding that the suspects are believed to be transporters for drugs from Thailand.
Soffian said the men were paid RM10,000, and had received RM3,500 as advance payment.
He added that the amount of drugs seized can supply the fix of 50,000 drug addicts.
“Police have been informed that they (suspects) did this for the first time. However, we will continue to investigate whether it involves an international drug syndicate.”
Soffian said the fishermen are found to be positive for methamphetamine, but they did not have any record of past offenses.
He said the case is being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries the mandatory death penalty upon conviction. – The Vibes, January 19, 2021
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