RM75 million worth of drugs seized during MCO

Police officers from the narcotics department have been stationed at all roadblocks nationwide.

KUALA LUMPUR: The police have seized RM75 million worth of drugs so far throughout the movement control order (MCO) period, Bukit Aman said today.

Bukit Aman Narcotics Crime Investigations Department director Ramli Din said drug dealing has been on the rise since suffering a dip in the first phase of the MCO, from March 18 to 31.

“The department has successfully opened 3,085 cases with 3,923 arrests nationwide,” he told a press conference this morning.

A total of 208 people are being investigated under Section 39(b) of the Dangerous Drugs Act (DDA) 1992.

Ramli also said police had conducted five large-scale drug busts in Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Perak, confiscating 165kg of drugs and 61,566 pills worth over RM5 million. Fifteen arrests were also made.

He said the police had identified a range of methods used to get past MCO restrictions, including utilising food delivery and e-hailing services. Eight cases of this have been identified.

Ramli said his department had managed to identify large drug-dealing networks involved in some of the cases by tracing the recipient and sender of the packages and tracking down their suppliers from there.

He added that not all e-hailing drivers caught delivering items with drugs were directly involved. Some who had suspicions about their packages sent them to police stations for checks, he said.

“Some (e-hailers) who know (about the packages) sometimes charge higher rates for deliveries,” he added.

A total of 376 people have been arrested with drugs at roadblocks so far with over RM345,000 worth of drugs confiscated.

More than half of the vehicles caught carrying drugs at the roadblocks were motorcycles. Another 40% were cars and 9% were other vehicles.

Ramli said police officers from the narcotics department who will be able to identify drug dealers and hidden drugs have been placed at all roadblocks nationwide.

Those found guilty of drug possession at roadblocks will be investigated under the DDA as well as for flouting the MCO.

At the press conference, Ramli also spoke of a trend of small-scale drug dealing during the MCO period.

He said some were found to have obtained drugs which were then packaged in smaller quantities and promoted through online applications such as WeChat and WhatsApp.

He also highlighted raids on private drug parties, saying 17 were carried out in Johor (12), Penang (three), Kuala Lumpur (one) and Perak (one).

A total of 123 people were arrested including 93 men, 30 of whom were 14 to 40 years old. - FMT