SHAH ALAM: The nervousness and awkward gait of a 16-year-old school dropout gave him away as he was about to board an international flight.
The teen was a drug mule, promised huge financial gains by drug dealers if he was successful in his first delivery attempt.
Set to fly to Taiwan on Dec 13, the teenager had illicit substances strapped onto his thigh and calf.
Unfortunately, he drew attention to himself with his suspicious actions. He was caught red-handed with his accomplice, a restaurant assistant aged 39, at Kuala Lumpur International Airport about 9.40am.
Police found 16 packs of syabu, weighing 4,176.4g and valued at RM292,348, strapped on their legs.
The drugs were meant for the East Asian market and could fetch at least six times more than what the local market could offer.
Selangor deputy police chief Datuk Ab Rashid Ab Wahab said the duo belonged to a syndicate that has been active for a few months, and would recruit teenagers as their mules.
“The drugs were strapped onto the mules, who are provided transport from a hotel to the airport.
“The hotel is where they would pack the drugs and stick it on their bodies. There are a few transit homes that the drug mules would stop by before departing overseas.
“Everything, from accommodation to food and clothing, are provided,” he said at the Selangor police headquarters today.
Rashid added that 12 more syndicate members, including a 14-year-old girl and another 16-year-old boy, were arrested in an apartment in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, and a hotel in Petaling Jaya.
They had records for drug offences and have been remanded until Wednesday.
The arrests led to a seizure of 1,512g of syabu at a hotel in Petaling Jaya.
In another raid, also at a hotel in Petaling Jaya, 2,286g of syabu and 156g of ketamine were seized.
Rashid said the total seizure for both cases amounted to RM273,660.
In a separate case, Rashid said nine private college students, including one from Yemen, have been arrested for various drug offences last week in Subang Jaya and Cyberjaya.