MELAKA: Police arrested two individuals for attempting to smuggle tobacco into the Sungai Udang Prison using a drone during a raid at a house in Taman Kris Satria, Sungai Udang, on Wednesday.
Melaka Police Chief Datuk Dzulkhairi Mukhtar said a 46-year-old local man and a 27-year-old local woman were detained at around 4:00 pm following a police report received at 3:10 pm on the same day.
He said the raid was conducted by a team of officers and personnel from the D4 Branch of the Melaka Criminal Investigation Department (CID) alongside the Melaka Narcotics Crime Investigation Department (NCID), in cooperation with the Sungai Udang Police Station.
“An inspection at the location led to the seizure of several items believed to be linked to the activity, including drone equipment, materials suspected of being intended for smuggling, communication devices, and other related items to assist with the investigation,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Dzulkhairi said initial investigations revealed that the male suspect admitted to flying the drone to scout the landing location before smuggling the tobacco to an inmate.
He said investigations also revealed that the activity was believed to have been carried out in collusion with an inmate, and efforts to track down the individual involved is currently underway in cooperation with the Sungai Udang Prison authorities.
He added that urine screening tests showed both suspects tested negative for drugs.
“A record check found that the male suspect has 12 criminal records and three drug-related offence records, while the female suspect has no criminal record,” he said.
He said the case is being investigated under Section 447 of the Penal Code for criminal trespass and Section 58 of the Prisons Act 1995 for offences related to introducing prohibited items into a prison.
“Both suspects are currently remanded to assist with the investigation. Melaka Police take the misuse of drones for criminal purposes seriously, especially involving attempts to smuggle prohibited items into prison institutions, and will take strict action against any parties involved,” he said.
He also urged members of the public with information regarding criminal activities to contact any nearby police station or the Melaka Police Hotline at 06-285 1999 to assist with investigations. – BERNAMA
