KOTA KINABALU: Police here had to shoot at two suspected drug pushers when they tried to run them over during an operation in Beaufort district on Tuesday (May 10).

       Both suspects were arrested after the driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed on the side of a flooded road near the Beaufort Community College at 8.30pm.

       Beaufort police chief Deputy Supt Yusoff Zaki said the incident took place when anti-narcotics policemen were conducting surveillance work on a house at Kampung Limbawang.

       He said a car carrying two men suddenly entered the compound.

       “The policemen then approached the car and instructed the driver to stop but he instead responded aggressively before speeding off towards the police team, almost hitting some of them,” he said when contacted on Wednesday (May 11).

       “In self-defence, the police then fired several shots at the tires in order to get it to stop,” he said, adding the suspects, however, managed to escape towards Jalan Melulugus.

       Yusoff said his men then gave chase before noticing the car had crashed on the roadside.

       The suspects, aged 31 and 35, then fled on foot but were apprehended soon after, he said.

       “After checking their vehicle, the police found a plastic bag containing over six grammes of a substance suspected to be syabu in the driver's seat,” he said.

       Yusoff said further checks found that one of the suspects had a history of drug usage.

       “One of the men also confessed to getting the drug supply from another local drug dealer. We are following up on this now,” he said.

       He added the case is being investigated under Section 39A(1) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.