Inp.polri.go.id -  Batam. A joint operation by Batam Customs and the Riau Islands Regional Police have foiled the smuggling of 1,399.26 grams of methamphetamine by a foreign national courier in Batam from Stulang Laut, Malaysia. M. Rizki Baidilah, the Head of the Compliance Guidance and Information Services Division at Batam Customs, said on Tuesday (31/1/2024) that the drug smuggling was thwarted at the International Ferry Port Batam Center and the Domestic Port Sekupang, antaranews.com reported. The suspect was identified as KFH, who holds an unspecified foreign national,ity who was caught after a passenger checks by the Batam Customs K-9 team. Further examination revealed the suspect admitting to carrying methamphetamine using an insertion method. The suspect was taken to Awal Bros Hospital for an X-ray, confirming the presence of a foreign object in the body. The suspect was then brought to Batam Customs to retrieve the items from the anus. KHF's Indonesian accomplice, AM, claimed the crystalline substance detected in the X-ray was alum, not methamphetamine. However, an examination confirmed the substance as methamphetamine. Subsequently, the confiscated drugs were destroyed under the supervision of the Riau Islands Police Chief, Inspector General Yan Fitri Halimansyah, at the Riau Islands Police headquarters. The suspects will be charged under Law No. 35/2009 on narcotics, with carries a maximum penalty of death and a fine of up to Rp 10 billion. (mg/inp/pr/nm)