Kota kinabalu: Police have arrested two men and a woman, and seized 159.8 kg of methamphetamine (meth) worth RM7.99 million, in a series of raids around the city on May 22.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Sabah police commissioner Datuk Jauteh Dikun stated that the suspects, locals aged between 18 and 49, were detained under Ops Bayu 9, conducted by the Narcotics Crime Investigation Department of the Sabah Contingent Police Headquarters.

In the first raid at around 3.40 pm, police apprehended a man who was carrying a box and attempted to flee toward a nearby shopping mall. A search of the box revealed nine meth packages weighing an estimated 9.10 kg. Further questioning led to a raid at a house in Luyang, where 64 torn transparent plastic packets believed to have been used for packaging drugs were found.

Jauteh added that police then raided a hotel in the city, arresting one man and a woman suspected of drug distribution and abuse linked to the case. Subsequent raids, with leads from the suspects, yielded 68 meth packages (69.8 kg) at an Inanam apartment and another 79 packages (80.9 kg) hidden in a car parked there.

The drugs are suspected to have been brought in through a port by concealing them inside vehicles shipped from Peninsular Malaysia to Sabah. Part of the drugs was believed to be destined for Sabah's local market, while the remainder was intended for overseas distribution.

The case is being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries the death penalty or life imprisonment upon conviction. Datuk Jauteh emphasized the importance of continuous intelligence work and public cooperation in combating drug trafficking, stating that the Royal Malaysia Police will not compromise with anyone involved in these activities.