Cops bust Sarawak’s largest cannabis cultivation operation, seize millions in drugs

MIRI (Sept 15): Police have busted the largest cannabis cultivation operation in Sarawak, resulting in the arrest of two local men aged 41 and 61.

State Police Commissioner Datuk Mancha Ata said the raid, conducted by the Miri Narcotics Criminal Investigation Division on a house in Jalan Piasau here on Friday, yielded 143 cannabis plants and about 1.742 kilogrammes of cannabis, valued at around RM3.627 million.

“Additionally, assets worth RM24,500, including a car valued at RM20,000 and a motorcycle about RM4,500, were seized under the Dangerous Drugs (Forfeiture of Property Act 1988).

“The items seized also include various packets and bottles of fertilisers, LED lights, and a guidebook on planting cannabis,” he told a press conference here today.

Mancha said the two suspects, who did not have prior criminal records, were tested positive for Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a component of cannabis.

He said the investigation found that the suspects obtained cannabis seeds from abroad through online services, and had them delivered via courier services.

“The suspects purchased the packets of cannabis seeds for about US$100 (about RM428.94) per packet, and secretly planted them at their residence. The cannabis leaves produced from the plants was sold in Miri for RM100 per 100g.

“It is estimated that the operation ran for about nine months, from the first day the cultivation started until today,” he explained.

Mancha said the raid in Miri is the largest of its kind in the state, surpassing a previous operation in Sibu (in July 2022) that involved 34 cannabis plants.

Both suspects have been remanded for seven days, from Sept14 to 21.

The case is being investigated under Section 6B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which provides for life imprisonment and not less than six strokes of the cane for offences related to planting and possessing cannabis plants.

The suspects also face charges under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries the death penalty or life imprisonment, as well as not less than 12 strokes of the cane for trafficking in cannabis.

Mancha emphasised the Royal Malaysia Police’s Narcotics Criminal Investigation Division’s (JSJN)  commitment to combating drugs trafficking, urging the public to report any suspicious activity through the JSJN hotline at 012-2087222.

Also present during the press conference was Miri police chief ACP Alexson Naga Chabu.