Suspects ram police car in frantic evasion
KOTA KINABALU: Two drug addicts, including a teenager, rammed a police vehicle and collided with several cars in a desperate attempt to evade arrest in Tawau.
The suspects were eventually apprehended after police cornered their vehicle during the incident, which took place around 1.45pm on Sunday near the Batu 3 industrial area at Jalan Apas.
Tawau deputy police chief Supt Champin Piuh said a team from the Narcotics Crime Investigation Division had been pursuing the suspects as part of Ops Tapis, a drug enforcement operation.
The officers had earlier spotted a suspicious four-wheel-drive vehicle and attempted to intercept it.
'As the police attempted to stop the vehicle, the suspects became aggressive, ramming the police car and crashing into several civilian vehicles,' Champin said in a statement posted on the Tawau District Police Facebook yesterday.
The suspects fled towards Jalan Apas, continuing to drive recklessly and hitting more vehicles along the route before being arrested.
A search of the vehicle uncovered a fabric bag under the handbrake containing two transparent plastic packets of crystalline substances, believed to be syabu (methamphetamine), weighing about 5.13g, with an estimated street value of RM400.
Subsequent tests revealed that both suspects, a 25-year-old local man and an 18-year-old foreigner, tested positive for amphetamine and methamphetamine.
The case is being investigated under Section 39A(1) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
Police are now searching for other individuals who may be involved.
He said the public can relay information to the Tawau District Police Headquarters or contact the 24-hour hotline at 089-772121 or via the Volunteer Smartphone Patrol app.
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