GEORGE TOWN: A 22-year-old Ukrainian woman was detained yesterday for allegedly smuggling in cocaine wrapped as candies after she arrived at the Penang International Airport.
The foreign drug mule carried the cocaine wrapped as chocolate candies on board a domestic flight in two pieces of carry-ons. She arrived about 11am.
State Narcotics Department chief Superintendent Guan Beng Kang said the woman had allegedly mixed 2.1 kilograms of cocaine with genuine candy wrappers inside four steel boxes.
“The mule had boarded the plane from Kiev, Ukraine, made a stopover in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and entered Malaysia via the Kuala Lumpur International Airport prior to arriving in Penang.
“She arrived on a tourist visa in her first visit to Malaysia,” he said in a press conference here today.
Guan said the woman was believed to be linked to an international syndicate, with early investigations showed the drugs worth about RM500,000 were intended for domestic distribution.
The woman has been remanded until next Thursday to assist in police investigations.
She is expected to be charged with drug trafficking under Section 39B (1) under Dangerous Drug Act 1952, which carries a mandatory death sentence.
