GEORGE TOWN: For the past one month or so, a secluded beachside house in Permatang Damar Laut here, has been used by a syndicate to process ketum juice.
Luck, however, ran out for them when police raided the house at 10am today following a tip-off and uncovered their illicit activities.
Marine Police Region One commander Assistant Commissioner Rosman Ismail said 1,000 packets of ketum juice and 90kg of dried ketum leaves were seized in the joint operation between the marine police and Southwest district narcotics department.
He said three people, including a woman, aged in their 20s and 30s, were also detained to assist investigation.
“From our initial investigation, we believe they have only moved into the house about a month or two to carry out the illegal activities.
“The ketum juice is for local consumption. Altogether, the total seizure amounted to nearly RM10,000,” he said.
Rosman believed the ketum juice were being consumed by fishermen and those carrying out village odd jobs, as they provided the much-needed energy boost.
“Nevertheless, this is still illegal and punishable under Section 30(3) of the Poison Act 1952.
“This is an ongoing effort to stump out the illegal activity. We urged the public to provide us with information so that we can act accordingly,” he said, adding that most of these syndicates operated in secluded or abandoned premises to avoid detection.