TAWAU – Police busted two drug smuggling syndicates here and detained seven men, including two civil servants, at two different locations around Tawau on March 20 and 21.
Tawau police chief Jasmin Hussin said during the two raids, police seized syabu worth RM130,000, while the seven suspects would be remanded for 14 days to assist investigations.
“On March 20, police stopped a car with five passengers for inspection at a housing estate in Tawau town and upon inspection found 103.40g of syabu. The five friends were aged between 30 and 59.
“All five suspects, who are unemployed, tested positive for drugs, while four of them collectively had 19 previous criminal records for drug-related offences,” he told reporters here today.
Following the arrest of the five suspects, police managed to detain two other suspects, aged 34 and 36, both civil servants, on March 21, at 12.30pm in Tawau town.
“During the second raid, the two suspects were in a car and tried to escape when stopped by police, but police managed to detain them. Upon inspection, five packets of syabu weighing 1,177.5g were found inside the car and later seized. However, both did not have any previous criminal records,” he said.
Jasmin said both syndicates were believed to have obtained the drugs from the same source, while the suspects would be investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
He added that police have also struck a cooperation with neighbouring countries to share information and intelligence on matters related to drug smuggling.
Jasmin said for the first three months of 2023, police managed to seize about 11kg of syabu. – Bernama, March 27, 2023
