KOTA KINABALU: Police here believe that they have crippled a drug syndicate after seizing over 20kg of syabu worth almost RM1mil in Sabah’s Semporna district.

       Three men including a foreigner were also arrested in a raid at the Semporna Jetty on Jan 3.

       The suspects, aged between 36 and 38, were detained on a wooden boat with the drugs.

       It is believed that they were about to sneak off to a neighbouring country to sell the syabu.

       “This is the biggest drug bust in Semporna so far,” district police chief Supt Mohd Farhan Lee Abdullah told a press conference on Thursday (Jan 11).

       He said a team comprising officers and personnel from the Bum-Bum Island police station and Semporna anti-narcotics department were sent to the location at 6.30am following a public tip-off.

       The police then spotted the boat next to the jetty and noticed the men on board behaving in a suspicious manner.

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       “We noticed that one man was holding two suitcases. Our men then boarded the boat, causing the suspects to try to escape, but we managed to apprehend them,” Supt Mohd Farhan said.

       A check of the suitcases found that they had 20 plastic bags containing a substance suspected to be syabu.

       “The drugs, weighing roughly 20,227.4gm, are estimated to be worth almost RM1mil and could cater to some 5,000 users,” he said.

       Supt Mohd Farhan said the suspects also tested positive for syabu.

       “They have been remanded for investigations under Sections 39B and 15(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952,” he added.

       Thanking the public for their help that led to the arrest, he appealed for continued cooperation by providing police with any further information on the case.

       He said anyone with information may contact the station at 089-782020 or call investigating officer Insp Adzilee Sulu at 014-8665087.