Man’s bid to transport ketum leaves foiled

GUA MUSANG: A man’s attempt to bend the truth about his interstate trip was foiled after the police caught him trying to transport 160kg of ketum leaves to Kelantan.

Gua Musang district police chief Superintendent Sik Choon Foo said the 38-yearold man was driving alone from Kedah to Gua Musang, Kelantan, through Simpang Pulai in a car filled with 16 black plastic bags of ketum leaves.

The man, he added, lied about his permit to travel interstate, which he applied purportedly to visit his mum in Kedah.

He was stopped at a roadblock in Kampung Kundur near here at 4pm on Tuesday.

Sik said the suspect thought that it was safer to use this route to get to Kota Baru, instead of the Gerik-Jeli highway.

“When checks were made, the police found 16 black plastic bags containing 160kg of ketum leaves, believed to be brought in from northern states.

“Investigations also found that the suspect had confessed to lying about visiting his mother in Kedah to obtain a permit,” he said at the district police station here yesterday.

Sik said Jalan Simpang Pulai, Perak, to Gua Musang was often used as a route for ketum leaf transporters.

He also said the suspect, who was arrested, only received a fee of RM1,500 to transport the leaves to the intended destination.

It was learnt that the suspect’s past three attempts to transport ketum leaves had been successful, and was thwarted this time after police tightened interstate travel surveillance.

The man’s urine test also returned positive for methamphetamine. He is currently being remanded until April 11, Sik added.

The case is being investigated under Section 30(3) of the Poisons Act 1952 and Section 15(1)(A) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.