PONTIAN: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has seized 4kg of drugs believed to be syabu worth RM200,000 in waters off Pulau Merambong.

       Johor MMEA director First Admiral Nurul Hizam Zakaria said the seizure was made after a patrol team boarded a suspicious boat.

       The team was conducting surveillance on the area under Ops Jaksa.

       “The operation was conducted at about 3am on Wednesday (July 21), 0.4 nautical miles southwest of Pulau Merambong.

       “The boat was manned by a single suspect who later sped off into shallow waters after noticing our patrol boat. The suspect then managed to flee into the nearby mangrove swamp,” he said in a statement here on Thursday (July 22).

       He added that the suspect had left behind a wooden boat with a 15 horsepower engine.

       “Inspection inside the boat found four plastic packages containing crystal powder believed to be syabu that was hidden inside an oil jerry can.

       “Each package weighed about one kg with an overall worth of RM200,000,” he said, adding that the wooden boat had been towed to the Sungai Pulai Maritime jetty.

       He added that the case is being investigated under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.