Indonesia arrests M'sian over suitcase of drugs

Indonesia arrests M'sian over suitcase of drugs

A Malaysian man could face death penalty in Indonesia after customs officials found 3.66kg of methamphetamine, or 'ice', in his luggage, an official said Sunday.The 46-year-old identified as Cheam Chee Teng was arrested on Saturday shortly after landing at an airport on the tourist island of Lombok on a flight from Singapore, customs official Danang Kuswidodo said.

"Our officers found a suspicious brown package hidden in his black suitcase lining. It turned out to be high-grade crystal methamphetamine with a street value of 7.2 billion rupiah (RM2.34 million)," he told AFP.

At the customs office where he is being held, Cheam told reporters he was promised around US$2,000 (RM5.8 million) to take the suitcase from a man named 'Kenny' in Vietnam and hand it over to someone in Mataram city in Lombok. He transited in Singapore.

"I really didn't know what was inside the suitcase. I was just asked to bring it here," he added. But officials were not convinced.

"His statement was confusing. How could he not know what was in the suitcase. His personal belongings, newspapers and clothes were in it," the customs official said.

Source: Agencies
Published July 4 2011