KOTA BARU: The increasing demand for ketum in Kelantan has prompted drug distributors to bring even more of the leaves in from other northern states, using land transportation, including lorries.
State police chief Datuk Hasanuddin Hassan said the seizure of ketum leaves in Kelantan had increased by 71 per cent so far this year, from 8,165kg last year to 14,162kg in 2018.
He said the latest seizures were of 735kg of ketum leaves worth RM22,050 in two operations in Batu Melintang, Jeli, yesterday and the day before. The operations also saw the arrests of four men.
“The (first) raid was conducted by Criminal Investigation Department police at a location near the Batu Melintang army camp about 8pm, where 235kg of ketum leaves worth RM7,050 was seized. The leaves were found in a Nissan Urvan. They were in 47 black garbage bags.
“Initial investigations revealed that they were brought in from Kampung Naka in Alor Star, Kedah, to be sold in Kota Baru.
“Two men aged 25 and 27 were detained. One of them has three drug-related offences on his criminal record,” he told reporters at the state police headquarters.
Hasanuddin said, in the second operation, Narcotics Department police conducted a roadblock at Batu 6, Batu Melintang, where they stopped a lorry on its way from Pendang in Kedah about 6.30pm.
He said they arrested two men, aged 40 and 27, in the lorry after finding 108 bags containing 5,368kg of ketum leaves worth RM15,000.
The leaves, said Hasanuddin, were for distribution in the Pasir Mas area, as well as for smuggling into a neighbouring country.
Meanwhile, in a separate raid in Wakaf Stan, Kubang Kerian, police arrested a 41-year-old man after finding 24g of heroin worth RM12,000 in his motorcycle.
“Investigations revealed that the man has four drug-related offences on his criminal record.”
Hasanuddin said the four men detained in possession of ketum leaves were being investigated under the Poisons Act while the man arrested with heroin was being investigated for trafficking under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act, which carries a mandatory death sentence upon conviction.