KANGAR: An unemployed man was arrested with 16.6 kg of cannabis contained in four boxes estimated to be worth RM51,646 while allegedly delivering the boxes to a courier company in Padang Besar on Jan 22.

Perlis deputy police chief SAC Baderulhisham Baharudin said police arrested the 21-year-old man at 3.30 pm.

“In the four boxes were compressed lumps and liquid suspected to be cannabis weighing 16.6kg and this man is believed to have acted as the deliveryman for the boxes of drugs to the courier,“ he said in a statement today.

He said the man apparently received the drugs from a Thai national at Bulatan Padang Besar and was allegedly paid RM800 per delivery.

“It is believed that the courier was used (as a transit point) because couriers do not have a scanner to check the contents of the boxes and the drugs are believed to be intended for the peninsula based on orders,“ he said, adding that the cannabis seized could cater for 33,320 addicts.

The man, who tested positive for ketamine, is remanded until Thursday for further investigation under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, he added.