Kota Kinabalu: Four of the 15 individuals were jailed three years by the High Court here Tuesday for assisting an organised crime group “Geng Upik”.
Mahathir Jibarail, 49, Mohd Faridzul Asmahadi, 32, Mohd Fikri Asme, 29, and Manan Ungok @ Salleh, 52, pleaded guilty before Judge Datuk Dr Lim Hock Leng to the alternative charge of assisting an organised crime group to further the interest of the group between June 2015 and Dec 24, 2023.
The alternative charges under Section 130W of the Penal Code were offered by the prosecution to the four individuals following the acceptance of their representation letters by the prosecution.
The four pleaded guilty to the alternative charge at the start of the trial for the main charge — being members of "Geng Upik" — which was brought against all 15 accused.
The alternative charge carries an imprisonment of up to 10 years while the main charge Section 130V(1) of the Penal Code carries a jail term of between five years and 20 years, on conviction.
Dr Lim ordered the four to serve the imprisonment sentence from their respective dates of arrest.
Earlier, when presenting the case facts, the prosecution informed the court that a police superintendent lodged a police report on Nov 23, 2023 concerning intelligence on "Geng Upik," which was involved in dangerous drug trafficking activities.
Mahathir and Faridzul were arrested by police on Dec 25, 2023 in Tawau and Penampang, respectively, while Manan was arrested on Jan 7 this year in Semporna, all on suspicion of involvement in the organised crime group.
Meanwhile, Fikri is currently serving a detention order under the Dangerous Drugs (Special Preventive Measures) Act 1985 from Dec 9, 2023 until Dec 8, 2025 and that on March 1, 2024 was charged under Section 130V of the Penal Code for allegedly being a member of "Geng Upik."
Investigations by the investigating officer revealed that all four individuals had assisted "Geng Upik" in drug trafficking activities in Sabah, providing material benefits and advancing the interests of the organised crime group.
The investigation also found that "Geng Upik" had engaged in dangerous drug trafficking in several serious offence cases, three in Tawau and one in Manggatal.
The serious offences in Tawau include an arrest under Section 39B involving a member of "Geng Upik" who was convicted and sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment; an arrest involving the seizure of 53kg of syabu with evidence indicating that the seized drugs were linked to the organised crime group "Geng Upik"; an arrest involving a member of "Geng Upik" under Section 39B, currently undergoing trial at the Tawau High Court.
The serious offence in Manggatal involved an arrest with the seizure of 4.6kg of syabu with evidence indicating that the seized drugs were linked to "Geng Upik."
The prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutors Datuk Nazran Mohd Sham, Lina Hanini Ismail, Siti Hajar Mat Radzi and Nur Ainaa Ridzwan.
Mahathir, Faridzul and Manan were represented by counsel Shahlan Jufri while Fikri by counsel Mohamed Zairi Zainal Abidin.
The other 11 accused were Datuk Maslan Sani, 41, Fazrul Bahar, 42, Nelson Yen Yee Chung, 46, Norsyafilah Pawawoi, 27; Shahlan Shah Abdul Samad, 37; Zulkahar Dusing, 38; Alkan Abraham, 35; Rahman Burijin, 44; Jaisalfian Jaineh @ Zaini, 45; Mohd Fauzie Rablin, 33; and Mazlan Mahmud, 41.