PANICKY TRAFFICKERS DUMP 629 CANNABIS PACKS INTO SEA
RM1.8 million drug haul seizure is MMEA’s biggest in two years
THE Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has scored its biggest drugs haul in two years with the seizure of RM1.8 million worth of cannabis, thanks to three bungling traffickers.
The traffickers had panicked upon seeing a group of men approaching their boat near Pulau Cupu here on Saturday morning.
The men dumped the 629 compressed packs of cannabis into the waters, thinking it was an ambush by the authorities.
They sped away after dumping their load, not wanting to risk the death penalty.
It turned out that the men were sports anglers looking for a spot near the island.
MMEA northern region director-general First Maritime Admiral Zulkarnain Mohd Omar said the cannabis, with a street value of RM1.8 million, was the biggest haul recorded by the agency in the past two years.
Zulkarnain said the seizure was thanks to the anglers, who alerted the MMEA upon noticing three men in a Class B fisherman’s boat dumping what they described as “a huge object wrapped in black plastic” into the waters of Pulau Cupu.
“A MMEA patrol team was despatched to the scene in a Petir 81 boat. It found the package floating in the sea at 9.20am,” he said here yesterday.
He said the case would be investigated under Section 39(B) of the Dangerous Drugs Act, which carries a mandatory death penalty upon conviction.