BINTULU: A shipment supposedly carrying tofu cat litter raised enough suspicion to keep Customs officers watching for 12 days — before the parcels were finally opened and found to contain more than 80kg of methamphetamine worth RM4.02 million.
The surveillance began on Aug 28 after the Customs Department received intelligence that the parcels, which were addressed to a premises here, could contain dangerous drugs.
Sarawak Customs Department director Datuk Norizan Yahya said officers from the Bintulu Customs Enforcement Branch and the Narcotics Branch at Customs headquarters monitored the parcels for 12 days.
“Despite the prolonged surveillance, nobody came forward to claim the shipment during that period.
“A detailed inspection conducted after the 12-day monitoring period then uncovered compressed slabs believed to be methamphetamine.
“The drugs weighed a total of 80,356.33g and were estimated to be worth RM4,017,816.50,” he said at a press conference today (Sept 15).
Norizan said the parcels had been declared as “Tofu Cat Litter”, suggesting an attempt to disguise the narcotics as ordinary commercial goods being transported through a courier service.
He added that the modus operandi involved attempts to smuggle narcotics into Bintulu using courier service, while recipient details believed to be fictitious were used to make the shipment harder to trace.
The case is being investigated under Section 39B(1) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 for drug trafficking, which carries the death penalty or life imprisonment and up to 12 strokes of whipping, upon conviction.
Members of the public with information on suspected smuggling activities can report them to the Customs toll-free line at 1-800-88-8855 or the nearest Customs office.
