Four family members including 14-year-old arrested in drug trafficking case

SUNGAI PETANI: Four members of a family, including a 14 -year -old girl, were arrested after they were believed to be involved in a drug trafficking syndicate in two raids in Pinang Tunggal, near here and Padang Serai, Kulim, Monday.

Kedah police chief Datuk Kamarul Zaman Mamat said the four suspects comprised a 32-year-old man, his 20-year-old wife and the woman's 48-year-old mother, while the teenager was the woman's younger sister.

"The first arrest involved the 32-year-old man who was detected behaving in a suspicious manner on a Yamaha Y15ZR motorcycle by the roadside near a mosque in Pinang Tunggal, near here, at about 2 pm.

"The suspect who worked as a grocery store assistant was later arrested, and a search on his backpack found 14 packets of drugs believed to be heroin, weighing a total of 6.36 kilogrammes (kg)," he said in a press conference here yesterday.

He said the police then raided a house in Taman Serai, Padang Serai at 4.05 pm and arrested the three other suspects.

Kamarul Zaman said an inspection at the house revealed a suitcase containing five packets of drugs believed to be heroin weighing 1.94 kg and a plastic packet believed to contain syabu weighing 12.5 grams.

He added that the total value of drugs seized in the two raids was almost RM95,000.

"Investigations found that the syndicate has been active in drug trafficking for about a year, and the supply of drugs is believed to have been obtained within the state, while all the suspects have no previous criminal records," he said.

He said all the suspects were remanded for seven days from today, and the case was investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.

In a separate development, Kamarul Zaman said the police were still investigating the case involving an MP in the state who was recently accused of violating the standard operating procedures (SOP) under Phase One of the National Rehabilitation Plan.

"We are still in the process of investigating, the witnesses involved have been identified and will be called to testify. After the investigation is completed we will hand it over to the public prosecutor," he said.

-- BERNAMA