KUCHING, March 10 — Sarawak police recorded their biggest drug bust for the year on Wednesday with the seizure of 35.486kg of syabu valued at RM3.5 million.

Sarawak Police Commissioner Datuk Mohd Azman Ahmad Sapri said the drugs were seized from an apartment at Jalan Stutong Baru here.

Mohd Azman said during the raid, police surrounded a man while he was in his parked car at the apartment’s compound around 1pm.

"Inside the car, police found 12 packets of drugs weighing at 12,447 grams, which are believed to be syabu,” he told a press conference at the Sarawak Police Contingent Headquarters today.

The drugs were found in packets purporting to be beverage products to confuse the authorities.

The 37-year-old suspect then led police to his apartment, where they found another 22 packets of drugs weighing at 22.676kg and one clear plastic packet, which contained 363 grams of drugs.

"Our investigation has shown that the suspect is believed to have been involved in drug trafficking since mid-2021. The drugs were brought into Sarawak via courier service from drug syndicates in Peninsular Malaysia,” Mohd Azman said.

It is also believed that the drugs were bought in bulk by the suspect at a cost of RM1.26 million for a resale or street value of RM3.5 million in Sarawak.

He said the suspect would send the packed drugs to a location where drug users from Kuching and other nearby districts would pick them up.

"We estimate that the seized drugs can cater to about 177,430 individuals,” he said.

A background check on the suspect revealed that he has two criminal records under Section 12(2) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 and seven records under Section 15(1)(a) of the same Act.

Mohd Azman added that a drug test on the suspect was positive for ketamine and benzo.

The suspect is currently under remand until March 15 for investigation under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 for drug trafficking.

Mohd Azman said the police will continue to conduct similar operations to track down drug syndicate members as well as freeze their financial accounts and assets to eliminate drug-related crimes in the state. — Borneo Post Online