14 students among 20 held at Penang drug party

The 20 were compounded RM1,000 each for flouting the CMCO and remanded to assist in a drug probe.

GEORGE TOWN: Twenty people, including 14 students, were caught at a drug party during a birthday celebration at two apartment units here last night.

Police went to the homestay units at 10.30pm following a tip-off and arrested 15 men and five women aged 13 to 20, said Timur Laut district police chief Soffian Santong.

“Fourteen of them – 10 boys and four girls – are between the ages of 13 and 17 and still schooling. Those detained were from Timur Laut, Bukit Mertajam and Bayan Lepas,” he said.

“The group said they had booked the units for a birthday celebration. The police party found ketamine weighing 1.48gm worth RM220,” he said, adding that six of those held tested positive for drugs.

Soffian said they were compounded RM1,000 each for defying the conditional movement control order (CMCO) and were remanded for four days to assist in investigations under Sections 12(3) and 15(1) (a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.

In a separate case, 16 individuals, including two women, aged between 20 and 40, were arrested and compounded RM1,000 each for drinking at a restaurant at Persiaran Gurney here at 10.45pm.

Soffian said security guards called police after the group refused to leave although the restaurant had closed at 10pm as per the CMCO requirements. - FMT