RANAU: A 44 -year-old local was remanded three days after he was found cooking ketum inside of a chicken coop in Kampung Dumpiring Atas, Kundasang on Monday.
Magistrate Marilyn Kelvin remanded the accused under Section 30(3) of the Poisons Act 1952 for possessing and processing a prohibited substance.
The fact sheet revealed aat a police team from the Narcotics Criminal Investigation Division (BSJN) from IPD Ranau made an observation of the accused for 15 minutes while he was in the chicken coop before making the arrest.
Police conducted a further search around the chicken coop and found a blue basin containing 24 bottles of coloured liquid suspected to be ketum water.
Police also found cooking equipment for processing ketum water.
The accused led police to a storeroom behind his house, where they discovered a transparent plastic package containing green powder suspected to be ketum, along with a white polystyrene box holding eight bottles of green liquid, also believed to be ketum juice.
All items were seized for further investigation. The unemployed accused was taken to the Narcotics Crime Investigation Division (BSJN) at the Ranau District Police Headquarters for follow-up action.
Interrogations are ongoing to identify the distribution network and source of the ketum supply in the area.
