KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 (Bernama) -- The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) denied reports in a local newspaper and on social media claiming a Malaysian university student was arrested for smuggling over four kilogrammes of syabu in Tanjung Balai, Indonesia, on Oct 10.
Bukit Aman Narcotics Crime Investigation Department (NCID) director Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said investigations found that the suspect arrested by the republic's authorities is a 21-year-old Indonesian man.
He said the suspect, from Medan, is a student at a higher learning institution in Indonesia.
Hussein said the drugs were obtained from a syndicate in Malaysia before being smuggled out.
"Further investigations revealed the drugs were handed over by another Indonesian man in the Klang Valley to be brought to Indonesia via the Tanjung Balai Ferry Terminal," he said in a statement today.
The suspect was arrested by Tanjung Balai Police (POLRES) at 5 pm local time on Oct 10 after arriving at the Teluk Nibung Ferry Terminal in Tanjung Balai on a ferry from Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan.
Hussein said an X-ray scan of the man's luggage found eight plastic packets suspected to contain methamphetamine, weighing 4.044 kilogrammes.
He stressed that the report titled "Lagi kes rakyat Malaysia ditahan, pelajar universiti 'kantoi' seludup 4kg syabu" is untrue and could cause confusion and concern among the public.
"NCID urges relevant parties not to spread any news without verified facts and to obtain prior confirmation from the authorities," he said.
He said NCID takes cross-border smuggling seriously and will continue to cooperate with the Indonesian National Police (POLRI).
He said the cooperation aims to gather intelligence to identify the supply source and dismantle drug syndicate networks in Malaysia linked to the case.
The public with information on the case is urged to channel it through the NCID hotline at 012-208 7222.
-- BERNAMA