KOTA KINABALU: Sabah police foiled a suspected statewide drug distribution deal by raiding a courier company in Kepayan last week and seizing ketamine worth over RM1mil.
Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Jauteh Dikun said that in the 12.30pm raid on Thursday (Sept 4), a Narcotics Crime Investigation team found two gunny sacks filled with packets labelled as Chinese tea.
“Upon inspection of these packets, we found what is believed to be ketamine, weighing around 20.7kg,” he said at a press conference here on Tuesday (Sept 9).
He said a man was detained during the raid, while three others, including the husband and wife who own the premises, were arrested the following dy.
Jauteh said the four suspects, all Malaysians aged 36 to 58, are believed to have been actively involved in dealing drugs since early this year.
One had a previous conviction and another tested positive for drugs, he added.
“We believe these drugs were sent in from Peninsular Malaysia to Kota Kinabalu via courier services, and were meant to be distributed across Sabah,” he said.
He added that the suspects used courier services to elude detection, filling the packages with items such as instant noodles to conceal the drugs.
“These people are using legal routes to transport illegal substances,” he said.
“From our calculation, these drugs could be used by a total of 68,993 addicts," he said.
Also seized were luxury vehicles, including a sports car, as well as cash.
The total value of the seizure came to more than RM4.2mil, Comm Jauteh added.
He said this was the second raid in a week by Sabah police.
In the earlier drug bust on Aug 28, syabu weighing 41.63kg and valued at RM1.3mil was seized in Ranau and Telupid.
Asked if the cases were connected, Comm Jauteh said there could be a possibility as the modus operandi were similar and the drugs came from the peninsula.
He urged the public to continue assisting police in fighting crime by providing information on illegal acts.
