Kelantan policeman injured in parang attack during anti-drug raid

TANAH MERAH: A police corporal was seriously injured after being slashed with a parang by a suspected drug pusher during an anti-drug operation in Kampung Lalang Pepuyu.

Kelantan police chief Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mamat said the 37-year-old officer suffered a fractured left hand in the 1.35pm incident and was admitted to Hospital Tanah Merah.

He said a team from the Kelantan police contingent headquarters' Narcotics Crime Investigation Department (NCID), assisted by personnel from Bukit Bunga and Lalang Pepuyu police stations, raided a house in the village.

The suspect, a local man in his 30s, tried to flee after seeing the officers but swung the parang at them during a chase, injuring one officer before being arrested.

Police seized the 35cm parang, 0.1g of suspected yaba pills and a bottle of liquid believed to be ketum juice.

Mohd Yusoff said the suspect had six previous drug-related offences.

The case is being investigated under Sections 307 and 324 of the Penal Code, Section 12(2) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 and Section 30(3) of the Poisons Act 1952.

The arrest was part of Ops Tapis Bersepadu Sempadan, an integrated operation aimed at curbing drug smuggling and distribution along the Malaysia-Thailand border.