By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, July 2: Police seized 1,192 suspected cannabis-laced vape cartridges worth RM531,113 during a raid on a house at Lorong Setia Raja here on Thursday.
Kuching District Police chief ACP Alexson Naga Chabu said the seizure was made during a follow-up raid conducted by the Sarawak Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department (NCID) on June 30, following an earlier operation at a house along Jalan Datuk Abang Abdul Rahim.
He said the first raid, carried out at about 11.30am, led to the arrest of 14 local suspects comprising 12 men and two women aged between 24 and 48, and the seizure of about 95 grammes of suspected syabu (methamphetamine), valued at RM10,487.
Following intelligence gathered from one of the arrested suspects, police launched a second raid at about 6.45pm at Lorong Setia Raja, where officers uncovered a large quantity of vape cartridges believed to contain liquid cannabis.
“During the second raid, we discovered multiple layers of packaging containing vape cartridges hidden inside plastic bags labelled with various fruit names,” he said in a statement today.
He said the total seizure comprised 1,192 vape cartridges, with an estimated weight of 2,980 grammes, and a street value of RM531,113.
“Preliminary urine screening also showed that 13 of the suspects tested positive for amphetamine-type substances, while one female suspect tested negative,” he added.
Checks further revealed that 12 of the suspects had prior drug-related offences under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, while the remaining two had no criminal record.
All suspects have been remanded for further investigation under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries the mandatory death penalty or life imprisonment, as well as at least 12 strokes of the cane if convicted. They are also being investigated under Section 15(1)(a) of the same Act.
Alexson said the operation was the result of continuous intelligence gathering and cooperation from the public.
“The Royal Malaysia Police will not compromise with any party involved in drug abuse or trafficking activities,” he said, adding that drug offences remain a serious threat to public safety.
He urged the public to continue providing information to authorities via the NCID Bukit Aman hotline at 012-208 7222 or the Sarawak NCID hotline at 017-592 9211. — DayakDaily
