KOTA KINABALU: Nine people, including three teenagers, allegedly getting high on drugs were brought down to earth when police busted a drug-fuelled party at a condominium unit here.
The suspects, mostly in their 20s, who were high on drugs, were arrested following a raid by the Kota Kinabalu Narcotics unit last week, said city police chief Asst Comm Kasim Muda.
Urine tests on the suspects turned out positive for methamphetamine, he added.
ACP Kasim said the suspects, who included six men, had just known each other when they decided to hold the drug party.
He said they were among a total of 23 suspected drug offenders nabbed during the one-day crackdown around the city.
Separately, he said the city police force will be carrying out more patrols in view of the coming festive and holiday celebrations.
“A total of 25 task forces have been set up and will be operating up to New Year’s Eve to maintain safety,” he told a press conference here yesterday.
He said there will be more roadblocks to ensure a smoother traffic flow and road safety.
In another case, a female ex-convict, allegedly the mastermind behind a spate of motorcycle thefts, has been arrested.
She was among 11 people nabbed in the case while another person is being hunted, said ACP Kasim.
Police believe seven cases of motorcycle thefts around the city and 11 others from districts like Kinabatangan, Ranau, Beaufort and Penampang have been solved with this arrest, he added.
He said police believe the woman had gathered a group of thieves, called “Gang Bibi”, to steal motorcycles around the city.
“Following her arrest at 10.30pm on Dec 4, two men were subsequently nabbed,” ACP Kasim said, adding that 10 motorcycles were recovered.
He said this led to the capture of other suspects, one of whom was an undocumented Filipino.
He said the suspects were believed to have played the roles of thieves, middlemen, buyers and mechanics, who break apart the bikes and falsify plate numbers.
“We found that the woman was jailed for stealing motorcycles previously. She was released but continued her activities.
“We are now hunting for one more suspect while those arrested have been remanded,” ACP Kasim said.
He said further probes found that eight of the 11 suspects had previous convictions, such as house break-ins and drug abuse around Kota Kinabalu.
