Sabahan nabbed in RM1m Syabu bust

KOTA SAMARAHAN: Police have seized about 23.88 kilogrammes (kg) of syabu worth an estimated RM955,500 following the arrest of a man from Sabah in Jalan Stutong, here.

Sarawak Police Commissioner Datuk Aidi Ismail said the 31-year-old was nabbed near a private hospital at about 9am on Wednesday after he was seen hiding a plastic package in an undergrowth.

“Inside the package were 18 plastic packets of different sizes, each containing crystalline substance believed to be syabu weighing a total of 145 grammes (gm),” he told a press conference at the district police headquarters here, Friday.

He said the suspect then led police to his apartment in Jalan Batu Kawa Kuching, from where more drugs were seized.

“From the first room, the police party found a red bag with 21 packages filled with syabu crystals weighing a total of 21,884gm,” he added.

Aidi said police also seized a box containing what was suspected to be 1.85kg of syabu.

The suspect, an unemployed from Sabah, has been remanded for seven days for investigation under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.

He said the suspect, who tested positive for ketamine, claimed that he turned to drug trafficking in December last year because he needed RM10,000 to pay illegal money lenders.

The suspect, who entered Sarawak on Nov 9 last year, alleged that a man who was a stranger contacted him in Kuching and got him involved in the drug trade, Aidi said.

He said police had identified this so-called stranger and forwarded his particulars to the Bukit Aman anti-narcotics international intelligence division and Sabah police to track him down.