Crackdown on Sabah drug cartel a feather in the cap for police, says Warisan info chief

KOTA KINABALU: The crackdown on Sabah’s biggest drug cartel is a great achievement for the police force, says Parti Warisan Information Chief Datuk Mohd Asiz Jamman.

In congratulating the police force for their arrest and subsequent charging of the suspects, he said this was an achievement that he himself felt proud of, as the former Deputy Minister of Home.

He said hopes this achievement would deter future drug related offenders from operating, which in turn causes social ills such as thefts, robbery and so on.

"It is not an easy task taking down drug syndicates, especially with their cunning means and ability to function with local and foreign networks for the illegal activities," Asiz said in a statement.

He said this following the charging of 11 suspects for their involvement with a criminal organisation in the Sessions Court here on Monday (Jan 22).

"I urge the authorities to focus more on identified hotspots as drug syndicates have a wide network of people under them, not only among the public but those in the enforcement side," he said.

Asiz said enforcement and monitoring at Sabah’s coastal borders must be enhanced due to its size and challenges.

He said enforcement officials must make use of radar systems to monitor the activities of boats and vessels while a strong presence of the Malaysian borders are important to prevent crime such as smuggling and drug distribution.

He felt that the scheduled rotation of staff on the borders and checkpoints must be done regularly to prevent security forces from working with criminals and syndicates.

Asiz said the need to stop all crimes such as drugs, especially the masterminds and accomplices is urgent, as drugs were still the number one enemy of the nation.