GERIK, Dec 29 — Police arrested two local men, believed to be members of a syndicate that was trying to smuggle ketum leaves from Kedah to Kelantan, at KM 17, East-West Highway, here, last Sunday.
Gerik district police chief, Supt Zulkifli Mahmood said the police team also seized four tonnes of ketum leaves from the two men, aged 52 and 46, at about 10.30pm.
He said from the intelligence gathered, the Criminal Investigation Department of the district police headquarters (IPD) stopped a lorry and upon inspecting it, found 800 black plastic bags of ketum leaves with a market value of RM120,000.
“The investigation found that the two men were paid RM1,000 each to transport the ketum leaves from Kedah to be sold in Kelantan by using the hired lorry.
“It was also found that the ketum leaves had been bought at RM10 per kg and to be sold in the market at RM30 to RM40 per kg,” he said at a news conference at the Gerik IPD today.
Zulkifli said the two suspects had used the Kupang-Gerik road to get to Kelantan, a distance of 315 km, in order to avoid detection of their ketum smuggling activity by the authorities.
“The two suspects who have records related to drugs are being remanded for three days starting yesterday under Section 30 (3) of the Poisons Act 1952. — Bernama