IRANIANS NABBED WITH SYABU WORTH RM5.1 MILLION

NILAI, June 8 (Bernama) -- Using ice to keep food fresh is one thing, but
two Iranians brought preserved fruits, together with a different kind of ice --
the party drug syabu.

This is what the Customs Department uncovered when it found 20.4kg of syabu
-- also known as 'ice' among users -- in their luggage at the Kuala Lumpur
International Airport near here, last Saturday.

Apart from the syabu, worth about RM5.1 million, and fruits, their luggage
also contained books on the Islamic Revolution.

The foreigners, in their 20s and 30s, had arrived from Dubai about 4pm when
customs enforcement officers detected the drugs in their luggage through the
scanner.

The duo were detained under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952
which carries the mandatory death penalty upon conviction.

This was the first time the customs department had nabbed Iranians for
smuggling drugs into the country, said its assistant director-general
(enforcement) Md Hassim Pardi.

"It's their first time here and our enforcement officers had detected the
drugs in their luggage through the scanner," he told reporters at his office,
here Monday.

He said the drugs were found hidden inside a secret compartment of the
luggage which also laden with a dozen of books on Islamic Revolution and Persian
preserved fruits.

Meanwhile on the same day, Md Hassim said the customs department had seized
a Pos Laju package containing 8,950 Eramin Five pills worth RM179,000 and 500
ecstasy pills worth RM15,000 in the black market.

He said the package was meant to be sent to Miri, Sarawak, from a sender in
Seri Kembangan, Selangor.
-- BERNAMA