Drug suspect rams GOF vehicle, fractures corporal's arm in Rantau Panjang

RANTAU PANJANG: A man, suspected to be involved in a drug syndicate, crashed a General Operations Force (GOF) vehicle while attempting to escape during an anti-drug operation in the area today. The incident fractured a police corporal's right arm. The 41-year-old corporal, who was in charge of a four-wheel-drive vehicle, was taken to Hospital Lati in Pasir Mas for treatment.

Datuk Ahmad Radzi Hussain, commander of the GOF Southeast Brigade, revealed that the incident followed an operation by the GOF Ninth Battalion's Strike Force team. Authorities were tipped off about a drug syndicate using courier services to distribute drugs across several states in Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak. At 1:30 pm, the team visited a courier service in Rantau Panjang and discovered six plastic packages, believed to hold drugs.

They found approximately 70g of cannabis buds, 10 bottles of cannabis oil, and 3kg of compressed cannabis. Later, the team encountered a Toyota Camry driven by the 35-year-old suspect, believed to be linked to the drugs found at the premises. The suspect allegedly attempted to flee for about 2km, colliding with the GOF vehicle as personnel tried to apprehend him.

The collision resulted in a fractured right arm for the corporal, while the other three personnel remained unharmed. The suspect was eventually arrested after his car became stuck. A search of the vehicle yielded six bottles containing a dark liquid, suspected to be codeine. The suspect, believed to be involved in a drug distribution syndicate operating in Rantau Panjang and Pasir Mas, was seized with the drugs and the suspected codeine mixture, valued at more than RM10,000. The case has been forwarded to the Pasir Mas police for further investigation.