3 arrested for hiding drugs in packs of coffee

Malaysian Police in Sibu believe that they have uncovered and dealt a blow to a complex drugs trafficking syndicate with the arrest of three men earlier this week. It is alleged that the locals, all under the age of twenty, were using instant coffee sachets and packets to transport ecstasy and ketamine around the country.

“The packets were opened and resealed after the powder was mixed with the instant coffee mixture,” said Martin Koo, the Deputy Chief of Police.

The town of Sibu, located sixty miles inland from the South China Sea, is a popular, but declining, tourist gateway for visitors wishing to explore the Upper Rajang River and Malaysian Borneo. It is perhaps most famous for the ‘Bandong walk’ project and for playing host to a mainly Chinese Communist insurgency in the 1950s.

According to reports in Malaysia, the suspects were found with over 1kg of ecstasy power, over 150 ecstasy pills and five bottles of ketamine liquid in their possession.

“The suspects,” Koo continued, “were inside a four-wheel-drive vehicle when the police team…intercepted them. Police found the drugs worth about [$7,000].

“This is a new modus operandi used by the syndicate,” he added.

Though, may we suggest, not wholly new. Readers may remember that in September of last year we reported that a Malaysian man from the populous city of Subang died after drinking a type of instant coffee that had been laced with unregulated amounts of sildenafil and tadalafil. Though we do admit that there is some difference between the selling of unlicensed quantities of sexual performance enhancers and the trade of illegal substances, such as the ketamine and ecstasy uncovered here.

Apparently, the drug laced coffee sachets had a retail value of nearly $60 per pack, making them slightly more expensive than the usual branded offerings available from convenience stores.

The three men being held in custody have no criminal record, police confirmed.