Vietnamese woman charged with trafficking 5kg of ecstasy in Johor

New Straits Times

3 days ago

JOHOR BARU: A Vietnamese woman was charged in the Magistrate's Court today with trafficking more than five kilograms of drugs two weeks ago.
Vo Thi Be Thu, 31, was accused of trafficking 5,286g of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) at a Persiaran Sutera Danga apartment unit at about 2pm on July 25.
MDMA, also known as ecstasy, is a synthetic drug with stimulant and hallucinogenic effects.
No plea was recorded as the charge, under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, carries the death penalty or life imprisonment.
If not sentenced to death, the accused also faces no less than 15 strokes of the cane.
In the same court, Vo pleaded not guilty to two other charges of possessing 20g of MDMA and nine grams of ketamine at the same location on the same date.
The charges fall under Section 39A(1) and Section 12(2) of the same Act.
The accused was also charged with possessing another 11g of ketamine at a different unit in the same apartment block at about 3.20pm on the same day. She pleaded not guilty and requested a trial for the charge, which was read to her in Mandarin.
Deputy public prosecutors Manushri Suthakar and Siti Aishah Latif prosecuted the case.
The courts set Oct 7 for mention, pending a chemistry report, and no bail was offered.
The accused faces two more charges before another magistrate, but the proceedings were postponed to Aug 27 to summon a Vietnamese interpreter.
The charges follow a police raid on two units of a gated and guarded apartment last Sunday, which resulted in the seizure of drugs worth over RM4.9 million and the busting of a drug trafficking syndicate led by a Vietnamese woman.