By NNN-Bernama,
Sham Alam, Malaysia : Malaysian police have arrested two Indian nationals separately at the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) and at the main terminal of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang in the central Malaysian state of Selangor recently for trying to smuggle 10 kg of drugs.
The head of the Selangor Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Nordin Kadir said in this state capital Monday that the first case last Thursday saw a 41-year-old suspect being arrested at the LCCT with 4.5 kg of drugs believed to be ketamine worth 135,000 Ringgit (one USD = about 3.09 Ringgit), hidden behind nine framed photographs kept in his luggage bag.
He said the suspect, who had arrived from Chennai, capital of the southern Indian state of TamilNadu, on Sept 28, had used a new tactic by transiting at the KLIA before taking a domestic flight to Tawau in the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah on the island of Borneo.
“He was arrested after he arrived from Sabah at the LCCT at 1.40 pm. We believe that drug smugglers have a new modus operandi by transiting at KLIA before flying to another destination and then entering this country through the LCCT,” he told a news conference.
He said the man, a tailor, had entered Malaysia 10 times previosuly and police were investigating whether he had also smuggled drugs during his previous trips here.
The second arrest was made on a suspect who arrived at the KLIA from Bangalore, capital of the southern Indian state of Karnataka, on Friday at about 8 am.
ACP Nordin said the man was earlier seen behaving suspiciously while pushing his baggage trolley and upon inspection by police, he was found to have 5.8 kg of drug,
believed to be syabu, valued at RM1.45 million.
“The drug was kept in 28 small packets which were hidden behind some boxes belonging to the suspect. The 28-year-old suspect, an information technology technician, had before this entered Malaysia six times.”
He said the two suspects were being remanded until Oct 7 and 9 respectively to facilitate police investigations under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries the mandatory death sentence upon conviction.