Sabah cops bust syndicate using courier service to bring in drugs from peninsula

Kota Kinabalu City police chief Asst Comm Mohd Zaidi Abdullah (centre) showing the drugs seized from three suspected masterminds involved in drug trafficking in the city.

KOTA KINABALU: City police here busted a drug syndicate using a courier service to distribute their drugs when they seized nine kg of syabu and a kg of ketamine worth RM368,000.

They also arrested three suspected masterminds of the syndicate aged between 37 and 52 during two raids in the city over the last few days.

Kota Kinabalu City police chief Asst Comm Mohd Zaidi Abdullah said that they brought in the drugs from Peninsular Malaysia using courier services and sold it to local pushers and addicts in the city and neighbouring districts.

He said the first suspect arrested was at a place at Jalan Ranggung Batek in Likas at about 2.45pm on Wednesday (Jan 26).

"As a result of searching a 37-year-old man, the police team found a box containing seven packages of suspected syabu weighing about 7.174kg.

"Further investigations led to the arrests of his accomplice at a hall in Luyang," he said, adding that the raids were conducted by the anti-narcotics unit policemen with the Kepayan state police headquarters.

Subsequently, he said that the two suspects led to the arrest of a 50-year-old man who was picked up in front of a shopping centre in Alam Mesra here at about 2pm on Thursday (Jan 27).

Police found 1.22kg of syabu in a bag he was carrying, he added.

A subsequent raid at the suspect's house in Kampung Bantayan in Inanam here led police to the recovery of another 1.22kg of syabu and one kg of ketamine, he told reporters at a press conference here Friday (Jan 28).

He said the total drugs seized was 9.218kg of syabu and one kg of ketamine with a street value of about RM386,848.

"Police investigations showed that the modus operandi of this syndicate was to order drugs from the Peninsular by using a courier delivery service through a fake address.

“The drugs were obtained on the same day when the suspects were arrested, and this time they changed the mode of operation by using coconut-based product packages to avoid detection.

Mohd Zaidi added that the two of the suspects had previous drug related cases and all have been remanded for seven days for investigations under the Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.