CUSTOMS DETAIN INDONESIAN WOMAN WITH SYABU WORTH US$462,656

BUTTERWORTH (Malaysia), June 22 (Bernama) -- The Penang Customs Department
detained an Indonesian woman and seized 5.788 kg of syabu worth RM1.4 million
(US$462,656) from her at the Penang International Airport in Bayan Lepas early
Tuesday.

Its director Zulkifli Yahya said the woman, in her 40's, was detained
at 2.15am after arriving from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

He said the drug was found hidden in her luggage bags when a Customs officer
from the Passenger Inspection Unit conducted screening and became suspicious of
the screen images of packages in the bags.

"On inspecting the woman's two luggage bags, the officer found two packets
containing white crystalline powder kept in the special compartment of each
bag."

Zulkifli said their intial investigation found that the woman had travelled
from Indonesia on June 17 and was on transit at the Kuala Lumpur International
Airport before flying to Ho Chi Minh City, then she flew back to KLIA before
coming to Penang.

He said they did not dismiss the possibility that the drug was for the
international market and further investigation was being carried out.

The woman is being remanded for 13 days to facilitate the investigation
under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries the mandatory
death penalty.

-- BERNAMA