Fisol (centre) showing the packages containing methamphetamine and ecstasy pills that were seized from the vehicle. Photo by Roystein Emmor
KUCHING (Dec 29): The police will refer to Bukit Aman and their counterparts in Indonesia to get further intelligence on two men believed to be connected to a drug smuggling case who managed to escape, said Sarawak deputy police commissioner Datuk Fisol Salleh.
He said that they could not say for certain if the two men had managed to cross the border into Indonesia or if they were still in Sarawak.
“For now, we cannot say if they managed to cross the border into Indonesia or if they are still here. Thus, we are referring to Bukit Aman and their counterparts in Indonesia to help us find a link to these two men who managed to get away,” he said in a press conference at the Sarawak Contingent Police Headquarters here today.
On the day of the incident, the 11th Battalion of the PGA were on an ‘Ops Benteng’ patrol at around 4pm when they came across a suspicious-looking vehicle at a hillside road in Sungai Paoh, Serian that was headed towards the Indonesian border.
Upon approaching the vehicle, three men exited the vehicle and fled into some nearby bushes, however one man was successfully apprehended.
Fisol said that after preliminary investigations, they suspected that this was the work of a syndicate smuggling drugs such as methamphetamine and ecstasy pills from Sarawak to Indonesia.
“The price of these drugs is more expensive in Sarawak, an estimated RM40,000 to RM50,000 per kilo and we have information that the price (for these drugs) over in Indonesia is double that amount.
“We believe that the syndicate’s modus operandi is to supply drugs from Malaysia to Indonesia through illegal pathways along the border, and they would use rented vehicles to reach the border before crossing over on foot,” he said.
Meanwhile, Fisol said that the police would double down on their efforts to strengthen border security between Sarawak and Indonesia as drug smuggling was one of the threats that the state faced, aside from illegal immigrants.
He assured that the police would not be lax in gathering information and intelligence on these matters.
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