KUANTAN: Police have dismantled a ketum leaf sales operation in this district with the seizure of over 500 kilogrammes of leaves during a raid on a house in Jalan Gambang, Felda Lepar Hilir 1.
Kuantan district police chief ACP Ashari Abu Samah said intelligence-led operations at 2.40 pm yesterday also resulted in the arrest of eight unemployed local men aged between 18 and 46.
He stated that six suspects were apprehended inside the premises and in the back of a lorry, while the other two men were arrested in a garage in front of the house.
Ashari revealed that three of the suspects were family members, including a 46-year-old father believed to be the main mastermind and his two children.
Police inspection of the vehicle uncovered 23 transparent plastic bags containing ketum leaves with an estimated total weight of 509.7 kilogrammes.
The ketum leaves were found placed on ice and stored in rice straw before being wrapped in plastic, possibly to maintain their freshness.
Among the items seized were cooking utensils for processing ketum leaves, including two gas stoves, two pots, a weighing scale and a gas cylinder.
The market value of the confiscated ketum leaves was estimated at RM20,400 and could reach RM52,500 if processed, potentially serving approximately 3,500 individuals.
The syndicate’s modus operandi involved using rental trucks to deceive authorities while conducting ketum leaf sales and purchases, with suspected activity since last July.
Initial investigations revealed that two suspects, the driver and lorry attendant, admitted receiving RM1,200 for each delivery.
Both suspects confessed to receiving orders and renting a lorry to deliver ketum leaves around Kuantan, using a vehicle bearing a delivery company logo (Lalamove) for at least four delivery transactions.
All suspects tested negative in initial urine screening and were remanded for four days until October 20, with the case investigated under Section 30(3) of the Poison Act 1952. – Bernama
