HULU TERENGGANU, Nov 12 — Police have detained a former forestry officer who was allegedly found in possession of 54g of heroin worth about RM11,500.

Hulu Terengganu police chief DSP Ismail Muslim said the suspect aged 35, was detained at the Kampung Tanjung Aur roadside here at 10.20pm on Sunday while allegedly waiting for potential customers.

He said police confronted the suspect who was behaving in a suspicious manner and had tried to escape.

“A scuffle ensued during which the suspect threw away a ‘Gudang Garam’ cigarette packet which was found to contain three vials of white powder believed to be nine grams of heroin worth RM1,500,” he told a media conference here today.

Following the arrest, police recovered 15 more vials believed to contain 45g of the drug worth RM10,000 under a sofa at a house rented by the suspect at Kampung Bukit Payung Marang yesterday.

Ismail said in the raid at 1.30am, police also seized a Perodua Viva car and a savings account bank book.

Initial investigations revealed the suspect whose urine tested positive for heroin was dismissed from his job in 2009. — Bernama