By Lee Shi-Lan

KUALA LUMPUR: While many are struggling to make ends meet, a 16-year-old found a sure-fire way of making money. Trouble was, it wasn't legitimate.

The Iranian teenager had RM500,000 worth of syabu meth pills and RM308,000 hidden under the bed and brazenly grew a ganja plant outside his apartment, thinking his neighbours were ignorant about the plant.

He is now in police custody with a Pakistani acquaintance after a police team caught them in the act of plucking leaves from the cannabis plant at the Sri Ampang apartments here.

Deputy Ampang police chief Superintendent Amiruddin Jamaluddin said the two had been remanded until next Tuesday.

In Tuesday's raid about 4.30pm, a police team followed up on a tip-off of drug trafficking activities at Sri Ampang apartments and saw the suspects behaving in a suspicious manner.

The Pakistani man, 22, was spotted plucking leaves from a potted plant and putting them into a plastic bag. When the man and boy saw the police, they dropped the bag and ran.

However, they were apprehended as the building had been cordoned off. Police found two packets of syabu after searching the Iranian youth and two packets of ganja on the Pakistani.

The Iranian later led police to his family's apartment on the ninth floor and showed the syabu and cash stashed under the bed. Police also found valuables worth RM5,000 and another eight packets of ganja.

"The valuables were seized as part of police investigations because the Iranian youth could not provide a reasonable explanation of how they came into his possession," Amiruddin said.

"The Iranian youth did not have a passport while the Pakistani had a valid social visit pass until July 17. He had entered Malaysia on Dec 1, 2004."

The Iranian's family is also being investigated as the parents had knowledge of their child's activities. They have been residing in Malaysia since 2004.