PERLIS CUSTOMS FOIL BIDS TO SMUGGLE CANNABIS WORTH OVER RM180,000

KANGAR, March 30 (Bernama) -- The Perlis Customs Department foiled bids to smuggle in 61.842 kilogrammes (kg) of cannabis, believed to be from Thailand, worth an estimated RM188,007.20 on March 3 and 5.

Its director, Ismail Hashim, said they discovered 10.812kg of cannabis worth about RM33,517.20 in a black plastic package in a raid at the Malaysia-Thailand border entry point in Padang Besar at 8.45 pm on March 3.

"The area is filled with rubbish thrown indiscriminately, and certain parties used the opportunity to place the drugs, which were in a plastic package, there for them to be collected by others later.

"Inside the plastic package was a box containing nine compressed blocks suspected to be cannabis,” he told a media conference at the State Customs Complex here today.

On March 5, it seized 20.20kg of cannabis worth about RM62,000 after two men, upon realising they had been spotted in the waters off Kuala Perlis at 1.30am, sped off on a boat towards Thai waters and threw a sack and a box into the sea.

He said that upon retrieving the thrown objects, the personnel found 20 compact slabs believed to be cannabis.

Then, at 10.30 pm the same day, the department seized 30.83kg of cannabis worth RM92,490 when they inspected two boxes abandoned at the Pulau Batu Layang docking area in Kuala Perlis.

"The boxes were found to contain 30 compressed blocks believed to be cannabis,” he said.

Ismail said the cases are being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, and the cannabis seized was believed to be for the north and Klang Valley markets.

-- BERNAMA