Port Imbi raid ends ‘path to heaven' for 20 drug addicts
According to the National Anti-Drugs Agency (AADK), the location has been an active spot for drug activities since 2023.
Known among the addicts as Port Imbi, it has two peak hours – from 6am to 10am and 5pm to 7pm.
'On average, there are 15 to 30 addicts here at one time. This place is also used as a drug purchasing point and addicts will come before or after work,' said AADK director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh.
During an anti-drug operation in the city yesterday, 20 people were rounded up at Port Imbi.
Among them was a 62-year-old drug addict with a history of more than 10 arrests and who had also been convicted and given six strokes of the rotan.
The man, who claimed to have repented, admitted to struggling with addiction for four decades.
'I started using drugs when I was 22.
'I tried to quit but I couldn't,' he said after his arrest.
Ruslin said a total of 112 people, aged between 19 and 61, were detained under Ops Perdana.
Most tested positive for methamphetamine (syabu), while the others tested positive for heroin, cannabis and benzodiazepines.
'All of them, including five women, are being investigated under the Drug Dependants (Treatment and Rehabilitation) Act 1983,' he said.
Ruslin said the large-scale operation, which targeted high-risk areas such as open drug hangouts and people's housing projects, involved 23 officers and 54 personnel.
He said the main aim was to identify drug users to undergo treatment and rehabilitation, either through institutional or community-based programmes.
'At the same time, this operation also aims to cut off drug supply networks, reduce demand and dismantle active drug dens, especially in high-risk areas,' he said.
Ruslin stressed that the AADK would continue with intensive enforcement.
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