MCO: Drug activities at wild parties a trend in Kuching, Padawan

KUCHING: Organising drug parties has become a trend in the Kuching and Padawan districts during the implementation of Movement Control Order 3.0, said Sarawak Police commissioner Datuk Aidi Ismail, today.

He said following the operating ban on entertainment centres during MCO 3.0, these wild parties are being organised behind closed doors at certain residences by the organisers to avoid their activities being detected by the authorities.

"However, during the special operation of 'Ops Parti Liar', the Sarawak Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department (NCID) managed to sniff out these activities and arrested 41 people -- 27 men and 14 women -- aged between 18 and 42," he said at a press conference, here.

He said the arrests were made by the Sarawak NCID in six raids which were carried out from May 29 to early today involving various drug offences in the districts.

"The total estimated value of the drugs seized is RM7,000 apart from other seizures such as mixed ecstasy powdered juice weighing 409.65 grammes (g), ketamine (9.5 g), ecstasy pills (two pills) and Erimin 5 (three pills)," he said.

Aidi said among the offences committed were drug trafficking and possession of drugs, and they (suspects) were detained under Section 39B, Section 39A (2), Section 12 (2) and Section 15 (1) (a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.

According to him, the Sarawak NCID also managed to dismantle a storage place and drug processing lab that was processing a mixture of ecstasy powdered juice and ketamine in an apartment in the city last Wednesday.

In the raid, a local man was arrested under Section 39B with estimated drugs worth RM250,000, apart from other seizures namely ecstasy pills (50 pills), ketamine (354.13 g), Erimin 5 (320 pills) and powered juice suspected to be ecstasy (13.7 kilogrammes)," he said.

He added that the man had been remanded for seven days for investigation.

-- BERNAMA