KANGAR: A Thai-registered pick-up truck carrying at least 150kg of cannabis skidded and plunged down a slope beside a village road in Arau near here.

The driver of the vehicle was believed to have tried to drive the vehicle back onto the road in Kampung Rambai but it overturned, causing the drugs to spill out.

Arau district police chief Supt Nanda Maarof said police were tipped off by the public of the incident at 7.30am yesterday. They found 150 slabs of compressed cannabis weighing about 1kg each at the scene of the accident and bushes nearby. The driver fled before the police arrived.

“It is believed that the driver was speeding as he headed towards Jalan Kuala Perlis-Changlun when the accident occurred,” Supt Nanda told reporters at the Arau district police headquarters.

The loot: Supt Nanda showing some of the seized cannabis at IPD Arau in Perlis.

“Based on the tracks at the scene, the driver might have attempted to drive the vehicle back onto the road several times but failed,” he said. “The pick-up truck eventually overturned completely.”

He said the drugs were worth about RM360,000.

“The front bumper and rear cargo compartment of the truck were modified to hide the compressed slabs of cannabis, believed to be for the local market.

“We’re trying to locate the vehicle owner,” he said, adding that the case would be investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act.