TAWAU: Police crippled a drug syndicate following two separate operations that led to the seizure of 2.13kg of syabu worth RM74,500.
Four men were arrested, including the syndicate leader, who is believed to have used his vehicle workshop storeroom as a base for drug distribution activities here.
Tawau District Police Chief ACP Jasmin Hussin said the suspects, aged between 29 and 64, included two locals from Tawau, one from Sarawak and a foreign national.
“Three of them, including the leader, were nabbed during a raid on a workshop storeroom in Kampung Tator Hill Top at 11.30am on Monday,” he said at the District Police Headquarters on Friday.
During the raid, police discovered two plastic packages bearing durian images inside a box, which contained two transparent packets filled with crystal-like substances believed to be syabu.
Interrogation of the three suspects led police to launch a second operation at Tawau Airport about two hours later.
“The fourth suspect was apprehended in the airport compound before he could board a commercial flight to Kota Kinabalu,” said Jasmin.
Initial investigations revealed that the syabu may have been brought into Tawau by the fourth suspect via land route, with supplies suspected to originate from a domestic drug network.
He said the police are also probing possible links between the group and interstate drug trafficking syndicates.
All four suspects are remanded until July 15 to assist with further investigations, which include identifying remaining members of the network.
The case is being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries the mandatory death penalty or life imprisonment with no fewer than 15 strokes of the cane, upon conviction.
