A spate of drug busts in Sabah and Kalimantan expose alarming incidence of cross-border smuggling; why the sudden success?
KOTA KINABALU: Drug smugglers in Sabah are continuing to play cat and mouse with Sabah police in the east coast of the state.
Recent news reports that several kilograms of ‘syabu’ or crystal methamphetamine had been seized in Kalimantan, Indonesia has raise speculation that there are secret labs in Tawau that are manufacturing the narcotic.
The Indonesian online media reported last Tuesday the National Narcotic Organisation (BNB) in a joint operation with the Provincial Narcotic Organisation (BNP) had successfully intercepted the delivery of two kilograms of the drug known locally as ‘shabu’.
The 40 bags of drugs were sealed plastic bags, the Indonesian media quoted narcotics officers as saying and had allegedly been smuggled out of Tawau and was destined for Samarinda in Kalimantan province.
Another news report from the same sources also alleged drug flow out of Sarawak with three district, Kota Singkawang, Kabupaten Bengkayang and Kabupaten Sambas in Kalimantan being the entry points.
“Two smugglers from Singkawang was arrested with four packages of ‘syabu’, two mobile phones, six million rupiah cash (RM1,686) and a motorcycle, after two month of operation,” according Kalbar Ajun, Chief Commissioner of Sriyono in Pontianak.
Police in Sabah have also been kept busy with the sudden spurt in drug smuggling cases. Several days ago olive here announced that they had made the second biggest drug bust in the country with the seizure of almost 80kg of crystal meth said to have a total street price of RM15 million.
The drug bust linked police in Hong Kong, Sabah and Kuala Lumpur with 13 arrests made pointing to the sophistication of the drug network. What has alarmed drug enforcement officers is that the network appears to have set root in Borneo.
Bukit Aman director of Narcotic Criminal Investigation Department director Noor Rashid Ibrahim said six raids were conducted by the police from Bukit Aman and Kota Kinabalu after months of surveillance and investigations.
It is the biggest drug bust in Sabah and believed to be the second biggest in the country, the first being in Penang several years ago.
Last month, Sabah police also discovered a group of foreigners include a European women who was using two plush condominium units at the exclusive Signal Hill area near the city’s downtown area for cannabis cultivation.
The police team seized 24 cannabis plants that were still growing in pots with another, which had already been “harvested” and about half a kilogram of processed cannabis that had been divided into three packages.
Sabah Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department acting Chief Superintendent Mohd Nasri Omar refused to confirm if police had detected an uptick in drug smuggling in the region.
He also refuted claims that the drug known as syabu was being produced here for export despite the successful drug seizures.
He pointed out that police had managed to foil several bids to smuggle large amounts of narcotics into the state and country especially along the border between Malaysia and Indonesia.
The rapid succession of drug busts recently may be due to the establishment of the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) and security zone taking hold.
However, reports that groups of illegal immigrants continue to caught attempting to enter Malaysian waters via Tawau from Sungai Melayu to Sebatik island give some reason to pause before claiming victory.
For instance the smuggling out of cheaper commodities available in Malaysia such as oil, sugar, diesel and other essentials to neighbouring countries such as Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand continues.
“High demand and large profits make it worth the risk for some,” a source said.
Short of sealing the long maritime border between the neighbouring countries, controlling the movement of people and goods will continue to pose a problem and drug syndicates will take advantage of the “holes”.
“You will continue to hear of major drug busts periodically. When you don’t hear anything you should start worrying,” the source advised. – JJ