The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) has detained a truck driver and his attendant in Batu 6 near Jeli, Kelantan for trying to smuggle and disburse RM20,000 worth of ketum leaves via a concrete mixer truck. Ketum or Mitragyna speciosa is an illegal substance and based on initial investigation, both individuals were hired by smugglers to bring the ketum leaves into Kelantan from a northern Malaysian state.
According to NST, Kelantan police chief Datuk Muhamad Zaki Harun said that the concrete mixer truck was stopped by a police party from Jeli after seeing its driver acting suspiciously. Muhammad Zaki further elaborated,
“The police officers were conducting Ops Ronda about 4am when they saw the mixer truck on the road… The officer then directed the driver to stop the truck. Upon checking under its compartment, police discovered 200 black packages containing ketum leaves.”
The driver and his attendant were subsequently detained, with the ketum leaves being estimated to be worth approximately RM20,000 by PDRM. The leaves were meant to be distributed to local buyers in Kelantan, with the smugglers utilising the cement mixer truck to avoid the activity being detected by the authorities.
Both of the individuals detained are aged 28 and tested positive for drugs. They have been remanded, with the case being investigated under Section 30(3) of the Poisons Act 1952.
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