BUTTERWORTH: Police detained 16 people, including seven women, at a wild drug-fuelled party at a homestay apartment along Jalan Assumption early this morning.
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Seberang Prai Utara police chief Assistant Commissioner Noorzainy Mohd Noor said, acting on a tip off, police raided the apartment at 1.30am, and found all 16, aged between 15 and 21, including five minors, had turned the homestay into an “entertainment centre”.
“During the raid, all of them were in a state of ‘high’, believed to be under the influence of drugs. The music was also full blast and the unit was dark, except for some self-installed disco lights.
“Investigations showed they had rented the unit for three days and two nights for RM360. They had rented the unit for entertainment and to take drugs to avoid detection by the authorities, especially during the Movement Control Order (MCO),” he said.
Noorzainy said, during the raid, police seized an assortment of drugs such as ketamin and syabu, equipment used to consume drugs, LED lights, microphones and speakers.
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He said urine tests conducted showed that 15 of them were positive for drug abuse, including a 15-year-old schoolgirl.
Three of the male suspects also had previous records for drug offences.
“Of the five underaged, including three girls, only one of them is still schooling in Form Three, while the others had stopped going to school.
“The others detained were mainly self-employed, factory workers, cell phone outlet workers and unemployed,” he said, adding that the group had collected money among themselves to rent the homestay and buy the drugs.
All of them are being investigated under Section 269 of the Penal Code, Section 16 of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act for flouting the MCO and sections 15(1)(a) and 12(2) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.- NST