US$422,000 in drugs thrown into the sea in Malaysia
The country’s marine police say it’s their biggest seizure of cannabis yet
The smugglers thought it was a raid by the authorities when a speedboat approached their vessel south-west of Pulau Cupu.
In their panic, the crew dumped 629 kilos of cannabis worth about RM1.8mil (US$422,193) into the sea.
They later found out it was only a passing boat.
The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) was tipped off about the incident.
“Our vessel Petir 81, which happened to be conducting Ops Satria Utara nearby, rushed to the area.
“However, when our vessel reached there, the fishing boat had left the area.
“We fished out 16 boxes from the sea,” said the agency’s northern region director, First Admiral Zulkarnain Mohd Omar at MMEA Maritime District 1 Base in Bukit Malut.
Zulkarnain said the boxes contained slabs of cannabis.
“We believe the cannabis was smuggled from a neighbouring country and meant for the local market,” he said, adding that it was so far the biggest seizure of cannabis by the MMEA.