A lawyer has been arrested for allegedly helping an inmate smuggle drugs worth RM16,000 into Marang Prison, with police also investigating him for a separate extortion case.
KUALA TERENGGANU: Police have arrested a lawyer for allegedly abetting an inmate to smuggle drugs into Marang Prison.
Terengganu Police Chief Datuk Mohd Khairi Khairudin said the 32-year-old man was arrested on Dec 29 along Jalan Hiliran, Pulau Kambing.
He said the suspect was believed to have helped smuggle drugs into the prison on Dec 23 through a male inmate, who was also his client, after a trial at the Kuala Terengganu High Court.
“After the trial, the inmate was taken back to Marang Prison and instructed to undergo an examination using a body scanner,” Mohd Khairi told a press conference.
Prison authorities detected foreign objects in the inmate’s body and sent him to the clinic for monitoring.
The inmate was later taken to the Merchang Health Clinic for further examination before being returned to the prison clinic.
Authorities recovered 123 grammes of Yaba pills, 21 grammes of cannabis and 13 grammes of Erimin 5 within two days after the inmate expelled the drugs.
The drugs, worth RM16,000, were sufficient to supply some 800 addicts.
Prison authorities lodged a police report and the case is being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
The lawyer has been remanded for six days until Jan 4 to assist in investigations under Section 107(c) of the Penal Code.
Police are also seeking public help to locate a housewife, identified as Nurul Norasikin Aladin, 30, from Kampung Batin, Seberang Takir, to facilitate the investigation.
Apart from the drugs case, the lawyer is being investigated under Section 348 of the Penal Code for a wrongful confinement and extortion case at a workshop in Paka, Dungun, on Dec 8.
A businessman claimed to have been wrongfully confined by a debt collector on Dec 8 and allegedly forced to hand over five cars, a motorcycle and a land grant after defaulting on an investment debt of RM353,000.
The victim was released the following day and sought legal advice from the lawyer on Dec 15.
“The suspect then contacted the debt collector, and after discussions, the victim was asked to pay RM9,000 to reclaim one of his cars,” Mohd Khairi said.
Investigations are being conducted to obtain information on the debt collector’s agent and the condition of the victim’s other vehicles.
