SEMPORNA, Jan 11 — Police foiled an attempt by three men to smuggle out more than 20 kilogrammes of drugs, believed to be Syabu, worth about RM1 million, to a neighbouring country when they were arrested in a raid at Semporna public jetty here on Jan 3.

Semporna district police chief Supt Mohd Farhan Lee Abdullah said two local men and a foreigner, aged 36 to 38, were arrested by a team from the Bum Bum police station and the Semporna Narcotics Crime Investigation Division (NCID) who conducted surveillance at the jetty at 6.30am.

"The three men, on board a boat, were approaching the public jetty but docked the boat at the rocky bank next to the jetty when one of them went ashore, and then returned to the boat carrying two bags.

"The suspect who was carrying the bag jumped into the sea after noticing the presence of the police, while one suspect ran towards the rocky bank and another suspect tried to escape by turning on the boat’s engine, but they were all arrested by the police,” he said in a press conference here today.

Mohd Farhan said an inspection of the two bags found 20 black plastic packages containing compressed lumps of clear crystal suspected to be Syabu with a total weight of 20227.42 grams and that this drug was meant for distribution in the neighbouring country.

He added that the suspects tried to avoid detection by using the public jetty early in the morning as the location is busy with many tourists who want to do island hopping or enter the resort on the resort island, in addition to local people who want to go to their villages on nearby islands.

"These suspects use this area hoping that no one will notice, and the police are grateful for the information from the public until all the suspects are caught. All the suspects tested positive for Syabu,” he added.

Mohd Farhan said people with any information regarding the case can contact 089-782 020 or the investigating officer Insp Adzilee Suili (014-866 5087).

He said the investigation did not show any link between the suspects and the largest syabu drug syndicate in Sabah as disclosed by Deputy Inspector General of Police Datuk Seri Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay recently. — Bernama