KOTA KINABALU: A man pretending to be a p-hailing rider to discreetly distribute drugs has been arrested in Sandakan, bringing his illicit activities to an end.
The suspect was arrested when the police raided his Taman Tai Fai Yen home on Friday (Aug 16) at 12pm, where he was caught in the act of processing ketum water.
Acting Sandakan OCPD Supt Ramasamy Kuppan said that the 42-year-old unemployed suspect is originally from the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia.
He added that the suspect has a history of five prior offences under the Dangerous Drugs Act and the Poisons Act 1952 in his criminal record.
"Initial investigations revealed that the suspect had been processing and selling ketum water and drug-laced vape liquid for the past two years, using his disguise to evade police detection," said Supt Ramasamy.
During the raid, police seized 82 transparent plastic bottles and six large transparent packages containing ketum water valued at RM6,760 along with six packages of ketum powder worth RM2,000.
Along with this, equipment used for processing and storing ketum water was also confiscated.
“We also seized 227 bottles of vape liquid of various brands and sizes suspected to contain drugs with an estimated value of RM16,470; this brings the total seizure to RM25,230,” Supt Ramasamy added.
He said that the seized substances were intended for up to 5,500 users and added that the suspect tested negative for drugs.
He is currently under a four-day remand from Saturday (Aug 17) and is being investigated under Section 12(2) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 and Section 30(3) of the Poisons Act 1952.
If convicted, he faces a fine of up to RM100,000, imprisonment of up to five years or both.
“We are continuing efforts to identify suppliers involved in the distribution of ketum powder and drug-laced vape liquids,” Ramasamy said.
Sandakan police are ramping up intelligence operations to combat drug distribution and addiction, aiming to eradicate such activities entirely.
