2 couples, who thought they were heading to Manchester, England, were detained by the Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (AKPS) at the Penang International Airport (LTAPP) on suspicion of being drug mules.
All 4 of them, in their 20s, were detained on Monday (3 November) after 68 packets of drugs, suspected to be cannabis, were found hidden in 4 bags weighing 86kgs, with an estimated value of RM8.3 million.
2 couples from Johor detained at Penang International Airport on suspicion of being drug mules
According to a report by Berita Harian, AKPS Director-General Datuk Seri Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain shared that all suspects were detained at about 8:15 PM, when one of the couples was not allowed to board their flight and their luggage was re-scanned.
“The scan of the luggage detected cannabis. Following this, the couple and another couple who had also checked in earlier were detained,” he said.
Investigations found that one of the suspects worked for an oil and gas company, two others were e-hailing drivers, while one was self-employed.
TikTok job syndicate
The 2 couples involved in this incident had previously boarded a bus from Johor to Penang, before going to LTAPP to their promised destination.
Based on initial investigations, all the suspects admitted to accepting job offers through TikTok, which offered lucrative wages of between RM8,000 and RM11,000 to carry goods to a foreign country.
“The results of the review also found that all the suspects are first-time passport holders and have no criminal records. The case has been handed over entirely to the Narcotics Division of the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (JKDM) for further investigations under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952,” he explained.
Datuk Seri Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain has since advised the public not to be easily fooled by online job offers and to always be vigilant with unknown individuals.
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