Man held with 5.4gm syabu in raid

TAWAU: A 36-year-old local man believed to be a drug dealer was arrested after police found about 5.40 grammes of syabu in his possession during a raid on an unnumbered house in Kampung Rancangan Kalabakan near, here, on Sunday.

Tawau District Police Chief ACP Rosdi Mat Jusoh said the suspect was detained by a team from the District Narcotics Crime Investigation Department (BSJND) during Op Tapis in Tawau and Kalabakan.

“The suspect was arrested in the first raid, which led to the discovery of eight transparent plastic packets containing crystals suspected to be syabu, weighing an estimated 5.40 grammes,” he said on Monday.

Rosdi said the suspect was being investigated under Section 39A(1) of the Dangerous Drugs Act (DDA) 1952 for possession of dangerous drugs exceeding the specified quantity limit.

He added that two other men suspected of drug abuse were also arrested in separate raids during the same operation at SMJ Kampung Rancangan Kalabakan and Kampung Kebun Sapi Kalabakan.

“Following an inspection of the second suspect, a 43-year-old local man, we found one transparent plastic packet containing clear crystals suspected to be syabu, weighing 0.08 grammes.

“Meanwhile, the third suspect, a 21-year-old foreigner, was found in possession of about 0.32 grammes of the same drug,” he said.

Rosdi said initial urine screening tests on all three suspects returned positive for amphetamine and methamphetamine.

“All three suspects were detained and are being investigated under Section 15(1)(a) of the DDA 1952 for drug consumption.

“However, investigations against the second and third suspects were also opened under Section 12(2) of the DDA 1952 for drug possession,” he said.

He added that following the arrests, police were taking follow-up action to trace those responsible for supplying the drugs and continuing intelligence gathering to identify the network involved.

Rosdi also urged members of the public to stay away from drug-related activities and promptly provide information to the police to help eradicate drug abuse.