KENINGAU: A man wanted by the police for drug offences was among seven men arrested while illegally gambling online and for drug possession at an unnumbered premises in a village here, yesterday.
District police chief Deputy Superintendent Douglas Nyeging Taong said the suspect aged 41, had previously been prosecuted for drug offences under Section 39A (1) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, and Section 12 (2) of the same Act.
“As the suspect was not present at the time the case was mentioned, the court then issued an arrest warrant on 22 October 2015 on the suspect,” he told a press conference at the district police headquarters here, yesterday.
Douglas said the suspect was arrested by members of the Keningau Narcotics Crime Investigation Department led by Inspector Muhammad Firdaus Shaharudin during a drug raid on an unnumbered hut in a village here.
Also seized from the suspect during the raid was a transparent plastic sachet containing lumps of crystal clear substance suspected to be syabu weighing 0.2 grams.
Douglas said the raid was carried out on June 17 at 12.30am and found a man (the suspect) taking care of laptops, with six local men suspected of gambling online at the premises.
He said the police introduced themselves and arrested the six suspects and confiscated the equipment found at the premises.
“The suspects, aged between 29 and 46, and the seized equipment were brought to the Keningau district police headquarters for further action,” he said.
According to him, one of the online gamblers aged 36, tested positive for syabu through a urine test.
Douglas said all the suspects would be investigated under Section 4 (B) (a) of the Common Gaming House Act 1953.
Douglas said two of the suspects among the seven arrested were also being investigated under Section 15 (1) (a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
Douglas said in the first six months of this year, a total of 294 suspects were arrested, and 279 of these were drug cases.