KANGAR: A Thai national was charged at the magistrate's court here today with trafficking 147.675kg of methamphetamine in Wang Kelian near the Malaysia-Thailand border on March 19.

Muhammatliket Ammalee, 44, from Satun, Thailand, nodded to indicate that he understood when the charge was read in Siamese before magistrate Nurshahida Abdul Rahim.

However, no plea was recorded.

According to the charge sheet, Muhammatliket and an accomplice, Anas Saradee, who remains at large, were found trafficking the drugs at the import lane of the Wang Kelian Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security Complex at 11.45am on March 19.

The offence falls under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, punishable under Section 39B(2) of the same act, read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code.

If convicted, the accused faces the death penalty or life imprisonment with no fewer than 12 strokes of the cane if not sentenced to death.

Deputy public prosecutor Tengku Ruqayyah Tengku Shahrom prosecuted, while the accused was unrepresented.

Tengku Ruqayyah requested that bail be denied, citing the accused's foreign nationality. The court granted the request and set June 20 for mention.