GEORGE TOWN, Penang - A 31-year-old Nigerian man was nabbed for possessing 28kg of ganja with a street value of RM100,000 (S$43,180) at the Sungai Dua toll plaza in Butterworth.

The man was travelling in an express bus when a team comprising police, state Customs and Excise Department staff stopped the vehicle and found the drugs in his luggage and backpack at 10.45pm on Sunday.

He was among 12 passengers who were ordered to alight from the Johor Baru-bound bus which had earlier left Alor Setar.

The authorities conducted the joint operation after a tip-off that the bus could be harbouring a drug runner.

Penang police chief DCP Datuk Wira Ayub Yaakob said a canine unit was deployed to sniff out the ganja.

He added that all passengers were ordered to place their luggage next to them for an inspection.

"Our suspicion was raised when a locked luggage and a backpack were left unclaimed.

"We then conducted a body search on the Nigerian as he was the only person without luggage.

"A key found on him was used to unlock the luggage and the ganja was found inside," he told a press conference at the state police contingent headquarters here yesterday.

DCP Ayub said investigations showed that the 29 slabs of ganja were smuggled in from a neighbouring country.

He believed drug syndicates had now shifted their smuggling activities via land, instead of airports or cargo complexes.

"We are still investigating whether the ganja was meant for the local or international market.

"The suspect has since been remanded. The case is being investigated as trafficking under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act," he said.

DCP Ayub said 190 foreigners involved in drug activities had been arrested in Penang this year, with Myanmar nationals and Indonesians topping the list at 77 and 74 respectively.