BESUT: In his bid to escape police, a 27-year-old suspected drug dealer drowned in Sungai Besut, near Kampung Bekok, Jalan Lata Tembakah, here yesterday.
The suspect, from Kampung Apal, was driving a car when he was asked to stop by an MPV unit during a patrol at 5.20pm.
The driver instead sped off, and the policemen gave chase.
District police chief Superintendent Mohd Zamri Mohd Rowi said the man abruptly stopped his vehicle by the roadside and fled on foot, before jumping into the nearby river.
"The suspect was swimming for his life, before he disappeared under the water, about 50 metres from the river bank", he added.
He said the suspect's body was found by a search and rescue team at around 9.50pm the same day.
"The body was sent to the Besut Hospital for a post-mortem," he said today.
A police inspection of the suspect's abandoned vehicle yielded a packet of 1,200 stimulant pills and nine packets of syabu weighing 5.72 grammes, as well as his identity card.
Initial investigation revealed that the man was previously convicted under Section 39A(1) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 for drug trafficking.