R
Red 3
Guest
Wednesday October 27, 2010
Georgian duo held in drug bust
KOTA KINABALU: Two women from Georgia have been arrested for syabu worth millions hidden inside picture frames. Both of them were arrested separately after their arrival in Malaysia on Monday. Sabah Narcotics Investigations chief Supt Abdul Rahim Dolmat said a 26-year-old woman was nabbed in a hotel here where syabu worth RM1.76mil was found hidden inside photo frames kept in a bag.
“This is our largest seizure so far,” he said, referring to the discovery of 5.5kg of syabu in the hotel room during the 12.50pm raid on Monday.
He said that police believe the woman was part of an international syndicate that was involved in global drug trafficking.
The art of smuggling: The incriminating picture frames confiscated by the police shown to the newsmen at the state police headquarters in George Town yesterday. — Bernama
She had entered Malaysia on a social visit pass, he said, adding that she arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Monday and then took a flight to Kota Kinabalu. “Her baggage was put on transit without being checked,” he said. Rahim said the trick of hiding syabu inside photo frames was not new as they had come across similar cases previously.
Furthermore, he said the case was similar to the one in Penang where a woman from Georgia was also nabbed. In GEORGETOWN, state police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Wira Ayub Yaakob said the arrest of a woman for allegedly trying to smuggle in RM1.3mil worth of syabu is the third incident at the Penang International Airport this year involving foreigners.
“We are working with all relevant agencies. “We hope the arrest of the 37-year-old woman from Georgia will serve as a deterrent to them (drug trafficking syndicate),” he told a press conference at the police headquarters yesterday.
The woman was nabbed by a state Narcotics Department team as she was walking towards the limousine rental counter, shortly after her arrival. Four drawings in wooden frames were found in her luggage. Two of the frames contained six packets of syabu each, while another two frames contained 16 packets of syabu.
