BY GABRIEL LIHAN and JASMINE BADUN
KUCHING: Sarawak’s geographical terrain makes the fight against drug scourge much more challenging than even in the Klang Valley.
Outgoing Sarawak Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department (NCID) Chief ACP Jasmirol Jamaluddin drew this comparison having served as the Kuala Lumpur NCID Deputy Chief from 2017 to 2020.
In Sarawak there are a lot hilly terrains while Klang Valley has smooth roads which do not pose a challenge aside from the heavy traffic jams, he said.
Citing an example he said when a police officer makes a drug arrest in Kampung Sungai Asap in Belaga it takes two hours to reach the scene and arrest the suspect; another four hours to Bintulu to bring the suspect for investigation; and then another five hours to Miri to bring the suspect to court.
In light of this, Jasmirol applauded the hard work shown by the police to tackle the drug issue in Sarawak, despite the distance and difficulties.
‘’Aside from that, if there is an arrest by the border it would take an amount of time to travel there, sometimes using a four-wheel drive (4WD) vehicle is necessary especially through logging roads’.
‘’The drug threat in Sarawak is however not as menacing as that in the peninsula where drugs come by tonnes but in Sarawak the supply of drugs come in smaller quantities like 10 kg and 20 kg.
‘’In Sarawak, syabu is the more preferred drugs by consumers. Whereas in the peninsula, the most common drug consumed is heroin which is considered obsolete.’’
Separately, Jasmirol complimented the State government’s support through Welfare, Community Well-being, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah .
‘’The support given by respective District Officers to the police officers has been tremendous as well and this has made the police officers very pleased.’’
He urged the narcotics department to continue to work with integrity and ensure esprit de corps is maintained for a much safer Sarawak.
