Cops to break transit chain of drug menace

KOTA BARU: Kelantan police are determined to break the transit chain of drug smuggling from Thailand before distribution to local residents and other states, said Kelantan police chief Datuk Muhamad Zaki Harun.

“We do not want Kelantan to become an easy route for criminals to smuggle drugs into the country. We will try to break the chain with various strategies that have been achieved with the Thai security authorities.

“We have seen that from January to March, drug smuggling is on the rise. To stop this rampant infiltration, we will continue to improve cooperation with our Thai counterparts,” he said at a press conference at the Kelantan police contingent headquarters here yesterday, as reported by Bernama.

The police, he added, have seized various types of drugs worth RM355,430, involving 439 arrests through the integrated screening of Ops Tapis from April 2–9.

Ops Tapis included a raid in Pasir Mas on Sunday, where police seized 18,000 yaba pills worth RM180,000 after arresting a local man, aged 26, and a 27-year-old Thai national.

“We stopped a rider on a Honda Vario motorcycle along Jalan Rantau Panjang and found four packages of yaba pills placed at the front of the vehicle.

“We are investigating if this suspect is linked to other previous arrests and if they have no previous criminal record.”

Muhamad Zaki said the two suspects will be held for seven days while investigations are done under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1952. This began yesterday.