Pushers using Felda schemes

The Star Online > News
Thursday March 24, 2005
Pushers using Felda schemes


BY FARIDAH BEGUM
KUANTAN: Pushers in Pahang are now using Felda schemes to distribute “modern” drugs such as syabu and ecstasy pills and this is increasingly becoming a problem for enforcers.

State Anti-Narcotics Department assistant chief, ASP Mohd Sakri Arifin, said that while it is easy to detect addicts of “traditional” drugs, such as ganja and heroin, those who take the new and more sophisticated amphetamine-type stimulants are more difficult to catch.

This is because they do not display withdrawal symptoms, such as shivering, breaking into cold sweat or showing feverish eyes, he added.

“The effect that we have seen so far is that those who use the modern drugs seem to age rapidly. They look gaunt and are thirsty all the time,” he said in an interview here, adding that addicts would drink water continuously.

ASP Mohd Sakri said because of this new development, the police were not just monitoring entertainment outlets but also stepping up checks in Felda plantations to smash the supply line.

He said their investigations showed the Jengka area in Maran had become a serious drug “port” (or black area).

“This is a traditional Felda area where many drop-offs are made without being easily detected, as the many oil palm estates provide numerous entrances and exits.

“They are also well-guarded by scouts, known among their circles as jaga air, who would first enter and check out a designated area.

“Once the coast is clear, the pushers and their buyers would move in,” said ASP Mohd Sakri, adding that the scouts were usually addicts who provided the surveillance service for a free supply of drugs they were addicted to.

He said the state police nabbed 9,193 addicts for various drug offences last year. Of the number, a total of 2,902 were caught in Kuantan.