Ex-con: I paid cops RM50,000 monthly

Former drug pusher claims he had to work with the cops and allegedly give them large amounts of cash in order to receive protection in return.

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PETALING JAYA: A former drug pusher claimed he paid between RM30,000 and RM50,000 a month to the police in Negeri Sembilan and Malacca for information on police stakeouts.

“If I receive information that the police are going to hold a stakeout, I would put the (drug) business on hold and go into hiding until they tell me it is safe again,” he claimed.

The former drug pusher said this in an interview with FMT in the presence of anti-crime watchdog MyWatch chairman R Sri Sanjeevan in a secret location recently. He refused to be identified or shown in a video interview for fear of repercussion.

He claimed he had been in the drug syndicate for about three years, pushing drugs with the help of the police.

He was arrested and jailed two years under the Drugs Prevention Act in 2005.

“I have not been in the business ever since I got out. It is time to turn over a new leaf and I am now running my own business,” he said.

“But I often receive phone calls from top cops I used to work with, asking me to start pushing drugs again. They say there are new ways to evade the law and they will ensure my safety this time around,” he added.

Other than paying a lump sum each month, he claimed that the police would call him daily requesting for cash ranging in the thousands.

“Everytime they need money, they will call me. I’ve even paid for family holidays for top cops and given ‘ang-pau’ for every festive season,” he said.

“On occasions, I would treat them at nightclubs and discotheques. They would also requests for the latest mobile phones and apparel. I have no choice but to comply as I need to keep the syndicate in business,” he added.

‘Syabu for cops’

The former drug pusher also alleged that a handful of policemen would call him daily requesting for methamphetamine, known locally as syabu for their own consumption.

“There are drug addicts in the police force and they will call me daily to supply them with syabu.

“This means I must always have stock to meet their needs or they will turn against me,” he claimed.

The reformed man said he bought the drugs for about RM10,000 and sold it for double the amount.

“Each pusher can earn up to RM100,000 a month and the syndicate consists of about 10 men.

“Sometimes the police even conduct raids and seize our drugs, only to be sold back to us at a higher cost. That’s why you only see huge drug busts on the news, the smaller ones are all covered up,” he added.

IPCMC needed

Sanjeevan meanwhile recommended the implementation of the Independant Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) to oversee the police abuses.

“We definitely need the IPCMC, that is the only way the police can be monitored as well. For now, they have no one to be afraid of. Who is going to conduct urine tests on the police?” he asked.

“The IPCMC will play a role and help keep the police force free of corruption,” he added.

Sanjeevan said the police often took complaints lightly and never followed up with the complainants on the status of the case.

“I had lodged a police report for a death threat and another for assault, until today no arrests have been made,” he said.

“They don’t even bother getting back to me to give updates on the case. The investigating officers even ignore my calls,” he added.

Sanjeevan said the police had mistaken MyWatch for an enemy when in fact they worked together with the police.

“We have been misunderstood, we are not the enemy. We want to help improve the system and reduce crime,” he said.

“MyWatch has faith in the new IGP Khalid Abu Bakar and we hope he will allow us to work together as a team,” he added.