Man carrying ganja in car shoots at cops

Policemen return fire and driver escapes on foot

ARAU: Two police corporals were shot at by a man who fired at them after the officers stopped his vehicle for an inspection.

Slabs of ganja were found inside the vehicle after it crashed during a high-speed chase.

The drama unfolded when the two police corporals in a patrol car flagged down the man, who was driving a Thai-registered fourwheel drive vehicle at about 7.30pm at Kampung Rambai, Guar Nangka here on Thursday.

Sources said when the vehicle stopped, one of the corporals snatched the keys from the ignition and he directed the driver, believed to be a Thai national, to get out before ordering him to hand over his passport and driving licence.

The other officer went to inspect the back of the vehicle where he spotted a package.

The man, who realised that the policemen wanted to carry out a thorough check on his vehicle, got into a struggle with the first officer.

The second officer rushed to the front to help his colleague.

However, the driver kicked both of them away.

He then used a second key to start his vehicle before taking out a gun from under his seat and shooting it wildly. He then drove away.

The sources said both policemen, who were unhurt, shot at the escaping vehicle with their submachine guns, hitting one of the tyres and the back of the vehicle.

The officers pursued the vehicle for 10km towards Changlun.

However, the vehicle skidded and came to a halt near Kampung Titi Kerbau. The suspect then escaped on foot. The two corporals found 174 blocks of ganja weighing 174kg hidden in a specially-modified cargo compartment of the vehicle.

Arau district police chief Supt Nanda Maarof declined to comment about the incident. — Bernama