JOHOR BARU: Two men who were among those involved in a brawl during the Desaru International Bike Week on Saturday have been arrested.
“The fight happened due to a misunderstanding between two groups of bikers – one was from the United States while the other was a local group,” said Johor police chief Comm Datuk Kamarul Zaman Mamat.
“When the fight broke out the first time, the police were able to put a stop to it and managed to avoid it from escalating further.
“However, the suspects later triggered another fight at about 9pm that same day. Several injuries were reported.
“The police were later able to break up the fight,” he said, adding that there were 350 policemen on duty at the three-day event.
Both men, aged 30 and 50, were arrested yesterday morning.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Comm Kamarul said three people, including one of the suspects, had some light injuries.
“We are still on the lookout for others who were involved in the fight,” he said, adding that the police were now verifying the total number of people who got into the brawl.
Comm Kamarul said that the case was being investigated under Section 148 of the Penal Code for rioting.
Earlier, several videos of a fight that took place in Desaru beach in Kota Tinggi, went viral on social media.
In one of the videos, chairs could be seen being thrown.
On a separate matter, Comm Kamarul said that police had arrested 17 people, including the mastermind and a married couple, believed to be involved in a drug trafficking syndicate.
He said that the suspects, including two foreigners, were nabbed during a special operation on Friday and Saturday.
“The suspects were arrested in five separate raids in the Iskandar Puteri and Johor Baru areas.
“They were renting houses in gated and guarded areas to be used as storage for the drugs,” he said.
He said that 10 of the suspects also tested positive for methamphetamine and nine had a criminal record.
They have been remanded for five days starting from Saturday, he added.
He also said that some RM1.6mil worth of drugs of various kinds, including Ecstasy, Erimin 5 and ketamine, were seized.
He added that police had also confiscated tools believed to be used by the syndicate, besides gold jewellery, cash in ringgit and Singapore dollars, as well as seven cars amounting to about RM1mil.
The case, he said, was being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drug Act.
