Mazlan takes a closer look at a bottle containing one of the chemicals used to manufacture the Syabu. From left are Abang Ahmad, Sahar, investigating officer Inspector Suraya Maisarah, and Sekam.
KUCHING: Police arrested three men and seized over RM1.1 million worth of Syabu after uncovering the state’s first drug-manufacturing lab in a house at Lorong Stampin Tengah during a raid earlier this week.
Sarawak police commissioner Datuk Mazlan Mansor said the suspects, locals aged between 29 and 46 years, were caught in their ‘mobile drug kitchen’ along with a microwave oven and various chemicals needed to manufacture the illicit drug.
“Acting on information, a team from the state Narcotics Crime Investigation Department (NCID) arrested the trio during a raid around 11pm on Jan 31 and seized a total of 4,021.09g of liquid and crystal Syabu worth RM1,126,132.
“All three tested positive for methamphetamine, with two of the suspects having prior criminal records for involvement in drugs and also retaining stolen property,” he said when announcing the bust during a press conference yesterday.
Mazlan said the discovery of the drug lab was the first for the state, and did not discount the possibility that other such facilities existed.
“Hopefully from this case, it will snowball into other activities and lead to the discovery of other such facilities if they exist.
“Right now, we are still determining how long the suspects have been operating. All that we know now is that this mobile kitchen enables the suspects to pack up and relocate if they sense that police are getting close,” he said.
He added that the public must be aware of suspicious persons staying in their neighbourhood, particularly if the house in question is being used to operate illegal activities.
“If you notice suspicious people going in and out of a house, and that the house seems to be closed all the time, let the police know and we can go and investigate.”
Initial investigation indicated the seized Syabu was meant for local distribution, with police estimating the amount found in the house was enough to feed the habit of 8,042 addicts for a period of three days.
It was further revealed that the Syabu found in the house alone was nearly half the entire amount of the drug seized by the NCID throughout the whole of last year, something which Mazlan said was a worrying sign of the drug situation in the state.
“Last year, the police seized 9,337g of Syabu in total. In this one raid alone, we uncovered almost half that amount. It is a worry, especially as there is a correlation between drug addiction and other crimes,” he said.
Aside from Syabu, other drugs seized by police last year included cannabis (10,191g), ketamine (1,508g), ecstasy (24,919 pills), Erimin 5 (2,790 pills) and Nospan (13,637 pills).
Meanwhile, the suspects are currently under a seven-day remand order and are being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries the mandatory death penalty.
Among those present at the press conference were Sarawak NCID chief Supt Sahar Abdul Latif, district police chief ACP Abang Ahmad Abang Julai, and Sarawak NCID deputy chief DSP Sekam Anoi.