Thirty students detained for various drug offences in Kelantan

KOTA BARU: Thirty students have been arrested in Kelantan for various drug offences from January to October 2023, says Kelantan police chief Datuk Muhamad Zaki Harun.

He said the students were detained under Sections 12(2) and 15(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act.

"Those arrested or detained are below the age of 17 and background checks reveal that they are from troubled or broken families.

"We believe drug trafficking syndicates target students from these groups as they can be easily influenced due to their family situations.

"They are also attracted to the lavish lifestyle of drug traffickers and they start small-scale drug peddling," he said at the Kelantan police headquarters here on Monday (Oct 23).

He added that most of the students detained were involved in consuming methamphetamine pills obtained from nearby schools bordering Tumpat and areas where social problems are high in Kelantan.

Meanwhile, under Ops Tapis carried out by the Kelantan narcotics crime investigation department from Oct 18 to 22, 254 individuals were detained for various offences related to drugs.

"Those detained are aged from 16 to 64, while drugs seized were worth more than RM660,000 and property seized amounted to RM115,000.00.

"In the latest case on Saturday, police detained two suspects believed to be drug traffickers at Jalan Sultan Yahya Petra and seized 54,000 yaba pills worth RM594,000," he said.

Both suspects will be remanded for seven days (Oct 22 to 28) to assist investigations under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, he said. – Bernama