TAWAU: Four friends, including two locals, suspected of conspiring to traffic 1,408 ecstasy pills weighing 609.89g and estimated to be worth RM98,560, have been remanded for seven days by the Magistrates’ Court, here, on Wednesday.
Magistrate Dayang Aidaku Amira Aminuddin issued the remand order against the four suspects, aged between 20 and 24, to allow police to complete their investigations under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
The application was submitted by investigating officer Inspector Hamka Ab Rashid.
According to the case details presented in court, the four suspects were arrested by a team from the Tawau District Police Headquarters’ Narcotics Criminal Investigation Division during an Ops Tapis raid in the Jalan Utara area on Oct 13, following information received from the Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (AKPS).
At about 3pm, the team spotted a man carrying a black plastic package behaving suspiciously as he entered workers’ quarters in the area.
A search of the first room on the ground floor led to the arrest of two men. Police subsequently found a black plastic package on the living room floor.
Another man was arrested at about 3.20pm when he entered the quarters to collect the package. A search of the package uncovered 1,408 ecstasy pills.
Further investigations led police to arrest a fourth man inside a car parked outside the premises’ perimeter fence.
The arrest followed information from one of the suspects that the man, who was also allegedly involved in distributing ecstasy pills, was waiting at the location.
A Toyota Vios and a remote control device allegedly used by the suspects were also seized.