KUCHING: Police nabbed 20 individuals including five mainland Chinese masseuses in an entertainment centre at Batu Kawa for violating the recovery movement control order (RMCO) last Saturday night (June 27).
Sarawak Narcotics Crime Investigation Department chief, ACP Jasmirol Jamaluddin said that the raid codenamed ‘Ops Pusat Hiburan’ took place around 11.30pm was carried out by a team of Sarawak NCID at Batu Kawa New Township.
The team arrested 13 men and seven women including five mainland Chinese women aged between 30- and 56-years old working as masseuses.
“Inspections made in the first room used by eight individuals — five men and three women — found a transparent plastic packet containing white powder suspected to be ketamine estimated to weigh about 0.81 grammes.
“In the second room where 12 individuals — eight men and four women — were arrested, a transparent plastic packet containing white powder was found. It was suspected to be ketamine estimated to weigh 0.28 grammes. There was also seven millilitres of liquid in a glass suspected to be a drug mixture,” he said in a statement.
Jasmirol noted that a body search on a 52-year-old woman came up with a transparent plastic packet containing white powder suspected to be ketamine with an estimated weight of 0.63 grammes.
Investigations also revealed that the group confessed to have come to the premises for entertainment and to get drugs from one of the individuals who claimed to have received the supply via ‘bank-in’ transactions. The supplier would drop the supply according to the location set before collection.
He added that 15 persons — 11 men and four women — were found to be drug-positive. All of them are currently placed in Siburan police station lock-up for further processing.
The case is being investigated under Sections 12(2) and 15(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 and Regulation 3 (1) of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures Within the Infected Local Area) 2020.
