AUSTRALIA: Malindo Air Crew Arrested After Smuggling $21m Worth Of Drugs

Police have busted an international drug syndicate that they allege has been using airline cabin crew on board flights from Malaysia to smuggle drugs into Australia over a number of years.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Victoria Police have arrested eight people in the past 10 days who they allege brought heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine worth $21 million into Australia.

Assistant Commissioner Tess Walsh from Victoria Police said the arrests occurred as part of Operation Sunrise, which involved the AFP, Australian Border Force and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission.

The joint investigative team has alleged that the syndicate used cabin crews at Malindo Air, a small airline based in Malaysia, to bring the drugs into the country.

Investigators allege the drugs were brought in via Melbourne and Sydney, carried on the bodies of the cabin crew.

One defendant allegedly told investigators it was his 20th trip into Australia.

Operation Sunrise is a complex, five-month operation targeting an alleged Vietnamese organised crime syndicate based in Melbourne, Assistant Commissioner Walsh said.

Assistant Commissioner Walsh said police believed the syndicate had been operating for at least five years and that the drugs seized so far were clearly not the total amount of drugs alleged to have been imported.

This is a significant seizure but I think reality would say that it's not the total amount of drugs that this team have brought into this country, she said.

Intelligence would tell us that this crew has been operating for some years, I would say five plus I don't know whether or not it's decades.

Those arrested by police include a 38-year-old woman arrested on January 7 in Tullamarine, and another six people arrested in raids at Sunshine North and inner-city Melbourne a day later.

On January 14, a woman from Richmond was also arrested.

Two of the defendants were Vietnamese-born Australians.

Six kilograms of heroin were seized, as well as 8kg of methamphetamine and half a kilo of cocaine.

Luxury cars, $100,000 in cash and drug paraphernalia were also seized.

Assistant Commissioner Walsh said the investigation was active and ongoing.

Malindo Air's website describes it as a premium airline with headquarters in Petaling Jaya, a town just outside of Kuala Lumpur.

In a statement, Malindo Air it was aware that one of its cabin crew had been arrested on arrival at Melbourne Airport on January 7.

While the airline said it had not had any official communication with its staff member or the AFP over the crew member's detention, the person had been suspended with immediate effect.

It said none of the other Malindo Air crew on the flight were detained.

Malindo Air stands ready to co-operate with all the relevant authorities be it in Australia or in Malaysia in this regard, the airline said.

Given all that we know to date and based on the findings of our internal investigations, we are confident that this arrest appears to be an isolated incident arising out of a crew's misconduct.


Tourism Observer

PAKISTAN: Yaba Pills Seized In Trawler Driven By A Bus Engine

Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) seized about 15 lakh yaba tablets worth an estimated Tk 75 crore on the street and arrested 12 people after intercepting a fishing trawler coming to the country from Myanmar early yesterday.

The arrestees, five of whom are Myanmar citizens, were bringing the haul to Chittagong, Rab said.

On information that a trawler was on its way, Rab intercepted it at the outer anchorage of Chittagong port, said Rab-7 Commanding Officer Lt Col Miftah Uddin Ahmed at a press conference at his office yesterday.

Searching the trawler, Rab personnel later uncovered the large haul, he said.

The trawler, named "Mayer Doa [mother's blessings]" was fitted with a bus engine to be able to go faster, he added.

The five arrested Myanmar citizens are Ismail, 20, Abdul Khalek, 20, Saddam Hossain, 19, Nur Alam, 25 and Selim , 20. The rest are Cox's Bazar's Nazir Ahmed, 55, Hashem, 19, Khairul Amin, 20, Zafor, 30, Khokan, 25 and Anisur Rahman, 18 of Bandarban's Chhadek.

In primary interrogation, the arrestees said the haul and the vessel were owned by one Faruque alias Baittya Faruque, 42, of Patiya upazila. Miftah said they were looking for him.

Rab-7 Senior Assistant Director Mimtanur Rahman, quoting the arrestees, said drug traffickers used the trawler to go to Myanmar at least five times and smuggled in about 30 lakh yaba tablets recently.

Miftah said drug traffickers recently started bringing consignments of yaba through unfrequented coastal areas in Chittagong such as Gohira, Potenga, Anwara, Khejurtola, Halishahar, Bhatiyari and Kumira at night.

Since January 2016, Rab-7 recovered over 1.18 crore yaba tablets, he added.

Yaba are tablets containing a mixture of methamphetamine and caffeine.

From ya khayan (energy pill) in its early days to ya maa (horse medicine), the drug was named ya ba (crazy pill) in 1996".It was given to horses when pulling carts up steep hills and for other strenuous work in Shan State.

Ya ba is sometimes called "bhul bhuliya" in India. The name commonly used for it in the Philippines and Indonesia is "shabú". In north Thailand it is often referred to as "chocalee" due to the somewhat sweet taste ya ba leaves in the mouth and its strong chocolate smell. The name commonly used for it in China is "ma-goo" or "ma-guo". In Bangladesh it's colloquially known as "baba".

Ya ba is typically produced in a round pill form. There are many different versions of ya ba, and the most common are red, orange, or lime green in color and carry logos such as "R" or "WY". They are small and round, roughly 6 millimetres (0.24 in) in diameter, which means they can be packed inside a plastic soda straw for easy transportation or in a reusable "mint" container.

Ya ba tablets typically are consumed orally. Another common method is called "chasing the dragon". Users place the ya ba tablet on aluminum foil and heat it from below. As the tablet melts, vapors rise and are inhaled. The drug also may be administered by crushing the tablets into powder, which is then snorted or mixed with a solvent and injected.

When swallowed in pill form the duration of the drug's effect is between 8–16 hours, as compared to 1–3 hours when smoked, while the intensity is considerably reduced. The peak of the drug's effect is followed by a come down period lasting 6–10 hours, during which the user may have difficulty sleeping or eating. Many users report that it takes them up to 24 hours after consumption to be able to fall asleep.

Ya ba is not commonly injected as many intravenous users favour the pure product instead (methamphetamine, called "ice" in Southeast Asia). This illegal drug is especially popular in Thailand, where it is imported from Burma or Laos even though it is sometimes manufactured locally in Thailand.

Typical ya ba users are working males, aged 16–40 years old, and its use is not uncommon among both female and male prostitutes in Thailand and Cambodia.

Myanmar is the largest producer of methamphetamine in the world, with the majority of ya ba found in Thailand being produced in Burma, particularly in the Golden Triangle and northeastern Shan State, which borders Thailand, Laos, and China. In 2010, Burma trafficked 1 billion tablets to neighboring Thailand.

Ethnic militias and rebel groups,in particular the United Wa State Army are responsible for much of this production; however, the Burmese military units are believed to be heavily involved in the trafficking of the drugs.

Ya ba tablets were formerly sold at gas stations and were commonly used by long-haul drivers to stay awake. After many horrific long-distance bus accidents, they were outlawed by the Thai government in 1970.

The deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's campaign from 2003 on to eliminate drug-trafficking further helped to curtail widespread use. In particular, use of the drug by bus drivers and truckers is not as widespread as it was in the 1980s.

As a result of the Thai government crackdown, restricted supply has had an effect on prices, further curtailing the popular use of ya ba. In 1999–2000, when buying a straw-full (around 20 pills) in Chiang Rai Province, north Thailand, ya ba was sold for around 10 baht per pill and commonly used on the go-go circuit and by young "MTV" clubbers.

Retail prices have risen from 100–150 baht (US$3–4) to 250–450 baht per pill as a result of the crackdown, though it remains a popular party drug.

In 2000, ya ba was smuggled across the porous border with Myanmar and from the neighbouring Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai Provinces of Thailand. Illegal traffickers often marketed or promoted their product by claiming that the pills contained up to six percent heroin. Rumour suggested it was produced by the corrupt personnel of Wa State Army in Burma.

In 2014, it was reported that Thailand's northeast provinces have seen a 700 percent increase in the number of people arrested for meth since 2008, according to data from the Narcotics Suppression Bureau.

In 2013, authorities counted more than 33,000 meth-related arrests in the northeast. The rapid growth of ya ba use in Isan mirrors that which is occurring across Asia, which now accounts for more than 50 percent of global amphetamine-type stimulant users.

On 16 June 2016, the National Council for Peace and Order, the military junta ruling Thailand, stated that it was planning to decriminalise ya ba in the country.

In 2006, ya ba ma consumption became fashionable for the well-to-do in Bangladesh. A series of highly publicized drug raids in 2007 by authorities implicated some well-known business people.Although the extent of ya ba abuse in Bangladesh is not precisely known, seizures of the drug by authorities are frequent.

It is also believed those who use it on a regular basis are frequently involved in the distribution of the drug, either directly or indirectly.It is commonly known in Bangladesh as "khaon", "pill", "BABA", "gari", "guti", and "bori", among other street names.

Many Rohingya refugees are hired to smuggle yaba from Myanmar into Bangladesh.In 2016, 359 Rohingyas were arrested on yaba-smuggling charges, and up to $29 million worth of yaba was seized by the Bangladeshi authorities.

In February 2010 it was reported that increasingly large quantities of ya ba were being smuggled into Israel by Thai migrant workers, leading to fears that its use would spread to the Israeli club scene, where ecstasy use is already common. In recent years, it has also been used by immigrant populations in the United States, and occasionally as a club drug replacing ecstasy.

The majority of long term effects associated with ya ba are analogous with those of methamphetamine, as ya ba mainly consists of caffeine and methamphetamine. Side effects include long-term decline of cognitive functions.[

THAILAND: Yaba Pills And Crystal Methamphetamine Seized In Crack Operation By Thai And Australia Security

Thai and Australian authorities joined forces in a crackdown on a transnational drugs network from which they seized 1.7 million yaba pills and 296 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine or “ice”, Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) chief Sirinya Sitdhichai announced on Tuesday.

Four Thai male suspects were arrested and identified as Sarayuth Ekmongkolsuk, 28, Adisak Kaengthongthae, 24, Thiwat Klin-obchey, 23, and Preutthichai Chaiyong, 22.

The latest bust stemmed from the previous arrest of drug suspects in Chiang Rai’s Chiang Saen district and Trang’s Na Yong district.

A police investigation found that Thiwat and others would allegedly transport the drugs from the North to store in Bangkok’s Thon Buri area pending distribution to retailers in Bangkok and surrounding areas.

Officers spotted Thiwat’s car after staking out a Nonthaburi shopping mall that was set as a meeting point.

They followed the car to a petrol station where Sarayuth and Adisak got in. They then continued to Than Thong Market where they allegedly collected another car loaded with drugs.


Investigators found that the suspects were allegedly linked to a network that smuggled crystal meth to Australia, Sirinya said.

ONCB officers and Australian police teamed up in a “storm” operation to intercept drugs before they were dispatched to Australia and arrested an unnamed Australian fugitive.

The man reportedly sneaked into Thailand and worked at a restaurant. He had allegedly been concealing crystal meth in water filter machines and posting them to Australia where the drug’s street value would be 100 times greater than in Thailand.

Methamphetamine is a strong central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamphetamine was discovered in 1893 and exists as two enantiomers: levo-methamphetamine and dextro-methamphetamine.

Methamphetamine properly refers to a specific chemical, the racemic free base, which is an equal mixture of levomethamphetamine and dextromethamphetamine in their pure amine forms. It is rarely prescribed due to concerns involving human neurotoxicity and potential for recreational use as an aphrodisiac and euphoriant, among other concerns, as well as the availability of safer substitute drugs with comparable treatment efficacy. Dextromethamphetamine is a much stronger CNS stimulant than levomethamphetamine.

Both methamphetamine and dextromethamphetamine are illicitly trafficked and sold owing to their potential for recreational use. The highest prevalence of illegal methamphetamine use occurs in parts of Asia, Oceania, and in the United States, where racemic methamphetamine, levomethamphetamine, and dextromethamphetamine are classified as schedule II controlled substances.

Levomethamphetamine is available as an over-the-counter (OTC) drug for use as an inhaled nasal decongestant in the United States.Internationally, the production, distribution, sale, and possession of methamphetamine is restricted or banned in many countries, due to its placement in schedule II of the United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances treaty. While dextromethamphetamine is a more potent drug, racemic methamphetamine is sometimes illicitly produced due to the relative ease of synthesis and limited availability of chemical precursors.

In low doses, methamphetamine can elevate mood, increase alertness, concentration and energy in fatigued individuals, reduce appetite and promote initial weight loss. At higher doses, it can induce psychosis, breakdown of skeletal muscle, seizures and bleeding in the brain. Chronic high-dose use can precipitate unpredictable and rapid mood swings, prominent delusions and violent behavior.

Recreationally, methamphetamine's ability to increase energy has been reported to lift mood and increase sexual desire to such an extent that users are able to engage in sexual activity continuously for several days. Methamphetamine is known to have a high addiction liability i.e. compulsive methamphetamine use and dependence liability,withdrawal symptoms occur when methamphetamine use ceases.

Heavy recreational use of methamphetamine may lead to a post-acute-withdrawal syndrome, which can persist for months beyond the typical withdrawal period. Unlike amphetamine, methamphetamine is neurotoxic to human midbrain dopaminergic neurons.It has also been shown to damage serotonin neurons in the CNS. This damage includes adverse changes in brain structure and function, such as reductions in grey matter volume in several brain regions and adverse changes in markers of metabolic integrity.

Methamphetamine belongs to the substituted phenethylamine and substituted amphetamine chemical classes. It is related to the other dimethylphenethylamines as a positional isomer of these compounds, which share the common chemical formula: C10H15N1

Methamphetamine is often used recreationally for its effects as a potent euphoriant and stimulant as well as aphrodisiac qualities. According to a National Geographic TV documentary on methamphetamine, "an entire subculture known as party and play is based around methamphetamine use".

Members of this San Francisco sub-culture, which consists almost entirely of gay male methamphetamine users, will typically meet up through internet dating sites and have sex. Due to its strong stimulant and aphrodisiac effects and inhibitory effect on ejaculation, with repeated use, these sexual encounters will sometimes occur continuously for several days on end.

The crash following the use of methamphetamine in this manner is very often severe, with marked hypersomnia excessive daytime sleepiness.Methamphetamine use has also been noted among men having sex with men in New York City.

Methamphetamine is contraindicated in individuals with a history of substance use disorder, heart disease, or severe agitation or anxiety, or in individuals currently experiencing arteriosclerosis, glaucoma, hyperthyroidism, or severe hypertension.The FDA states that individuals who have experienced hypersensitivity reactions to other stimulants in the past or are currently taking monoamine oxidase inhibitors should not take methamphetamine.

The FDA also advises individuals with bipolar disorder, depression, elevated blood pressure, liver or kidney problems, mania, psychosis, Raynaud's phenomenon, seizures, thyroid problems, tics, or Tourette syndrome to monitor their symptoms while taking methamphetamine. Due to the potential for stunted growth, the FDA advises monitoring the height and weight of growing children and adolescents during treatment.

The physical effects of methamphetamine can include loss of appetite, hyperactivity, dilated pupils, flushed skin, excessive sweating, increased movement, dry mouth and teeth grinding (leading to "meth mouth"), headache, irregular heartbeat,usually as accelerated heartbeat or slowed heartbeat, rapid breathing, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, high body temperature, diarrhea, constipation, blurred vision, dizziness, twitching, numbness, tremors, dry skin, acne, and pale appearance.

Excoriation disorder, or abnormal scratching and skin picking makes it an easy addiction to detect. Methamphetamine that is present in a mother's bloodstream can pass through the placenta to a fetus and can also be secreted into breast milk.Infants born to methamphetamine-abusing mothers were found to have a significantly smaller gestational age-adjusted head circumference and birth weight measurements.Methamphetamine exposure was also associated with neonatal withdrawal symptoms of agitation, vomiting and fast breathing.This withdrawal syndrome is relatively mild and only requires medical intervention in approximately 4% of cases.

Methamphetamine users and addicts may lose their teeth abnormally quickly, regardless of the route of administration, from a condition informally known as meth mouth.The condition is generally most severe in users who inject the drug, rather than swallow, smoke, or inhale it.According to the American Dental Association, meth mouth is probably caused by a combination of drug-induced psychological and physiological changes resulting in xerostomia (dry mouth), extended periods of poor oral hygiene, frequent consumption of high-calorie, carbonated beverages and bruxism (teeth grinding and clenching.

As dry mouth is also a common side effect of other stimulants, which are not known to contribute severe tooth decay, many researchers suggest that methamphetamine associated tooth decay is more due to users' other choices. They suggest the side effect has been exaggerated and stylized to create a stereotype of current users to deter new ones.

Methamphetamine use was found to be related to higher frequencies of unprotected sexual intercourse in both HIV-positive and unknown casual partners, an association more pronounced in HIV-positive participants.These findings suggest that methamphetamine use and engagement in unprotected anal intercourse are co-occurring risk behaviors, behaviors that potentially heighten the risk of HIV transmission among gay and bisexual men.

Methamphetamine use allows users of both sexes to engage in prolonged sexual activity, which may cause genital sores and abrasions as well as priapism in men.Methamphetamine may also cause sores and abrasions in the mouth via bruxism, increasing the risk of sexually transmitted infection.

Besides the sexual transmission of HIV, it may also be transmitted between users who share a common needle.The level of needle sharing among methamphetamine users is similar to that among other drug injection users.

The psychological effects of methamphetamine can include euphoria, dysphoria, changes in libido, alertness, apprehension and concentration, decreased sense of fatigue, insomnia or wakefulness, self-confidence, sociability, irritability, restlessness, grandiosity and repetitive and obsessive behaviors.Methamphetamine use also has a high association with anxiety, depression, amphetamine psychosis, suicide, and violent behaviors.

A methamphetamine overdose may result in a wide range of symptoms. A moderate overdose of methamphetamine may induce symptoms such as: abnormal heart rhythm, confusion, difficult and/or painful urination, high or low blood pressure, high body temperature, over-active and/or over-responsive reflexes, muscle aches, severe agitation, rapid breathing, tremor, urinary hesitancy, and an inability to pass urine.

An extremely large overdose may produce symptoms such as adrenergic storm, methamphetamine psychosis, substantially reduced or no urine output, cardiogenic shock, bleeding in the brain, circulatory collapse, hyperpyrexia i.e., dangerously high body temperature, pulmonary hypertension, kidney failure, rapid muscle breakdown, serotonin syndrome, and a form of stereotypy "tweaking".

A methamphetamine overdose will likely also result in mild brain damage due to dopaminergic and serotonergic neurotoxicity.Death from methamphetamine poisoning is typically preceded by convulsions and coma.

PAKISTAN: Heroin Recovered At Benazir Bhutto International Airport

The Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) seized 750 grams of heroin at Benazir Bhutto International Airport on Wednesday, said ANF Deputy Director Samiullah Khan.

The official said that Customs officials intercepted a suspected smuggler, identified as Suleman Khan a resident of Swat, who intended to board for Italy through a Qatar Airways flight.

The heroin was concealed in the suspect’s shoes, he said, adding that Khan was immediately taken into custody. In another case, ANF claimed to have apprehended an Abu Dhabi bound passenger identified as Ghulam Abbas, a resident of Sargodha, and recovered one kilogram of Methamphetamine concealed in his luggage.

In a separate case in Rawalpindi, Additional District and Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry has ordered the release of a man arrested for allegedly smuggling 1.5 kilograms of hashish.

The lawyer of accused Mohammad Faiz said the Sabzi Mandi police had not recovered any contraband from his client and neither had any witness against him. He prayed that his client be declared free of all charges.