Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) said 249kg worth of meth in Chinese tea packages and ecstasy pills stored in clear bags were found in the boat.

Penang MMEA director Abd Razak Mohamed said the two men on the boat were seen throwing out the drugs when a patrol boat intercepted them on Thursday night.

“The two men then jumped into the water, with one caught on the spot while the other was found by fishermen barely alive almost a day later,” he said.

The second man was taken into police custody while being treated at the hospital.

“We managed to fish out all the drugs thrown into the water before it sank,” he said at a press conference at the MMEA headquarters here today.

According to Razak, it was too early to say where the boat was headed and if the drugs were of local or foreign origin.

He said the two men had been remanded for 12 days from last Friday for investigation under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.

He said the boat with two 250cc engines worth RM150,000 had also been seized.