KUALA LUMPUR – The man found dead inside a Bukit Bintang hotel room with a gunshot wound to the head on Tuesday was the victim of a drug deal gone wrong, said police.
Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Azmi Abu Kassim said initial investigations found that the victim, a 49-year-old Johor resident, and three suspects were all involved in the illegal narcotics trade.
The trio are currently in police custody.
“Based on initial investigations, we believe the four of them met for drug deals. We also believe the motive behind the murder was related to these deals,” he said today during a press conference at the city police’s headquarters.
He added that police found and seized two handguns, a .38mm revolver and a Beretta semi-automatic, along with at least 14 live bullets when they arrested two suspects in Puchong, Selangor.
“Yes, we believe the murder weapon is among the two pistols we found. We now just have to wait for a ballistics test to confirm it.”
He said investigations suggest the victim arrived at the hotel here from Johor on Tuesday and met the three other suspects.
He added that police are still trying to establish how the narcotic transaction was supposed to take place.
“We are still trying to confirm who was trying to buy from whom.”
Azmi said they believe that following the meeting, one of the three shot the victim in the hotel room after the deal went south.
He noted the deceased had 13 past criminal records and had been part of police investigations into drug-related offences, kidnapping, and murder cases, while a suspect who was arrested at the scene had seven criminal records to his name. – The Vibes, May 5, 2022