Foreigners woo Sabah, Sarawak women to be drug mules

KUALA LUMPUR: Gullible East Malaysian women are the latest prey of foreign drug dealers who mesmerise them with luxury before luring them to work as drug mules.
According to police there was a rising number of women from Sabah and Sarawak who have fallen into the web of deceit of drug syndicates especially those from Nigeria.
It is learnt that the women, many are those who hail from small villages in both states.
Federal police narcotics crime investigations department (NCID) Commissioner Datuk Noor Rashid Ibrahim said today that a lack of awareness of the existence of such evils had put young and vulnerable east Malaysian women at the risk of being snared by such drug syndicates.
"This is the latest trend we have uncovered. Sabah and Sarawakian women are the prime prey of drug syndicates especially ones from Nigeria. We hope they take heed and not fall into the trap of these syndicates who lure them with costly gifts and all sorts of luxury. Eventually, their intention is only to recruit these women as drug mules." he said.
Investigations showed that the syndicate members preyed on these women not only in their own states and also those who recently arrive the peninsular seeking greener pastures.
Police said though the figures were not alarming, it was rising and there was an urgent need to "nip it in the bud."
In the latest drug bust by federal police on Saturday, a 24-year-old Sarawakian women was the only Malaysian and the youngest individual among a group of 10 foreigners comprising of seven Nigerian men and a female Tanzanian who were held for drug possession at a luxury apartment unit in Bangsar and other locations in the Klang Valley.
Noor Rashid said the bust led police to more than 30kg of syabu which was concealed in packs of cereal at the KL International Airport cargo terminal. He said the packages were shipped to the syndicate from Nigeria.
"Among those we held are two international drug kingpins. This is a major drug syndicate that smuggles drugs from China and South Africa apart from Nigeria. We also found that these foreigners were students at local colleges and entered Malaysia with study visas. Last month, the recovery of syabu in several packages by a courier company also belonged to this syndicate." he said.
Noor Rashid said since January, police solved 35 similar case with the arrest of 35 men and four women.