BINTULU: A foreigner, believed to be a drug dealer, was arrested and drugs worth RM6,500 seized from him in a raid on Sunday (May 24).

Bintulu district police chief Supt Zulkipli Suhaili said the 35-year-old unemployed man was picked up by a team from the Bintulu Police Narcotic Criminal Investigation Division during an operation conducted around 3.30pm at Kampung Dato.

“During the raid, the man attempted to flee by jumping into the river when he noticed the presence of the authorities, but we caught him.

“We searched him and found a black plastic bag containing a cigarette box with 16 small transparent plastic packets of crystalline substances believed to be syabu (methamphetamine),” he said, adding that the seized drugs, weighing 62 grammes, had a street value of RM6,500.

The suspect has been detained under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 which carries the mandatory death sentence upon conviction.

Police also found that the man was previously convicted in 2018 under Section 15(1)(a) of the same Act.

Zulkipli said the suspect is also being investigated under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63.