Published: Sunday June 1, 2014 MYT 12:00:00 AM
Updated: Sunday June 1, 2014 MYT 7:46:28 AM
Thai woman drug mule nabbed at roadblock
by m. sivanantha sharma
Caught: Police arresting the Thai woman at the Sungai Dua toll plaza.
BUTTERWORTH: A 47-year-old Thai woman was arrested with 40kg of ganja worth RM120,000 at a roadblock at the Sungai Dua toll plaza here.
Sources said that passengers on an express bus were checked during a multi-agency operation codenamed Ops Bersepadu at 5.30pm on Friday.
“The Thai woman was asked to produce her passport but she could not.
“The police asked her to open her two bags but she said she did not have the keys.
“The luggage was forced open and compressed blocks of ganja were found inside.
“Investigations show that she is a drug mule,” the source said, adding that she was on her way to Kuala Lumpur from Changloon, Kedah, when arrested.
The woman has since been remanded for a week pending investigations and the case has been classified as trafficking under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act which carries the mandatory death sentence upon conviction.
Penang Road Transport Department (JPJ) director Datuk Hassan Yaccob, who led the operation, said the joint operation involved 408 personnel from 14 enforcement agencies including the JPJ, police, Customs, Immigration, National Drug Agency and Department of Environment.
“More than 3,000 vehicles were examined during the operation and the JPJ booked 412 motorists for offences ranging from driving without a licence to having expired road tax and fancy number plates.
“Also detained were 46 illegal immigrants comprising 31 Myanmar nationals, Pakistanis (six), Indonesians (five), Bangladeshis (two), Nepalese (two) and a Thai national,” he said, adding that 64 summonses were also issued by the other agencies.
