TAWAU, Sept 9 — Police arrested a trader and seized 303.15kg of drugs, believed to be syabu, worth RM10.91 million, in the Kampung Batu Payung area near here last Monday.
Sabah police commissioner Datuk Idris Abdullah said the 49-year-old suspect was detained when he tried to evade police, after he was spotted driving a Mitsubishi Triton in the Membalua area, at 7.30pm.
“Police received a tip-off from the public and gave chase until Kampung Batu Payung, where the suspect was arrested.
“Initial checks on the suspect’s vehicle found 12 bags containing 290 green packets (with the word Guanyiwang written on it), believed to be syabu, apart from RM5,000 cash,” he said at a press conference today.
Following the arrest, Idris also confirmed the seizure of an air gun as well as other assets of the suspect valued at RM147,284.57, including cash totalling RM95,284.57 in the suspect’s bank account, and a vehicle.
He also said that police believed that the drugs were smuggled in from a neighbouring country into Tawau by sea, and investigations are still ongoing to find out if the drugs are for the local market, or Tawau was only used as a drug transit point.
“The police are also investigating, and will track down the remaining members of the group connected to the case if there are any. Sabah police are also requesting assistance from Bukit Aman for information on syndicates smuggling in drugs from outside,” he said.
The suspect is now remanded under Section 117 of the Criminal Procedure Code for seven days until September 15.
Meanwhile, Idris said Sabah police also detained 5,174 individuals for various offences under the Dangerous Drugs Act, and of the total, 550 are drug dealers who are being investigated under Section 39B, Section 39A (2) and Section 39A(1).
He also hoped that the public would extend cooperation by channelling information to the police, to eradicate drug-related crimes in their areas. — Bernama
