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Armed members of a special unit of the Malaysian police (symbolic image)
Image: dpa
The Malaysian coast guard found 130 bags of methamphetamine on a boat near the border region between Myanmar, Laos and northern Thailand. The 26-year-old driver now faces the death penalty.
meIn Malaysia, the Coast Guard seized a record amount of methamphetamine. The head of the authorities, Zubil Mat Som, told the AFP agency on Sunday that 2.12 tons of the drug were found in a boat in the north of the country. “It is the largest seizure in the 15-year history of the Coast Guard.”
There was a manhunt between the coast guard and a suspected ship off Penang Island on Wednesday. A 26-year-old suspect was arrested. When the ship was searched, 130 sacks of methamphetamine were found, disguised as Chinese tea.
According to the Coast Guard, the drugs have a sales value of more than 21 million euros. The intercepted shipment is believed to have been smuggled through the so-called Golden Triangle in the border region between Myanmar, Laos and northern Thailand and was destined for neighboring countries. Distributors there could get higher prices than in Malaysia.
The Golden Triangle is one of the most important drug centers in Asia. In Malaysia, the law provides for the death penalty for convicted drug traffickers.
