IPOH: Police have taken statements from five Tapah Prison warders regarding a recent attempt to smuggle drugs into the prison using a drone.
Perak police chief Datuk Azizi Mat Aris said more officers and inmates will be called in for questioning as the investigation continues.
"So far, we have taken statements from five warders. They include guard post officers, officers monitoring the CCTV, and those who discovered the drone and drugs.
"We believe that this is not the first case of using a drone to smuggle drugs (at Tapah Prison), but it is the first time the drone failed to function and crashed in the prison compound," he said.
Azizi told reporters this after attending the monthly assembly at the Perak police contingent headquarters today.
He said Bukit Aman's Narcotic Crime Investigation Department (NCID) is investigating the case.
Azizi also said that this was not the first instance of drugs being smuggled into the prison as various drugs have been seized from the prison since 2022.
"In 2022, a prison officer was arrested, and 13.35g of methamphetamines were seized. In the same year, two inmates were arrested, and 13.8g of drugs were seized.
"In 2023, four inmates, including an Indonesian man were arrested, and 1.38g of drugs were seized. Another inmate was arrested with 97g of heroin, 3g of yaba pills, and 11g of methamphetamines.
"Additionally, an inmate was arrested with 56.1g of heroin and 30.7g of methamphetamines. This year, an inmate was arrested with 1.8g of methamphetamines," he said.
It was reported on Saturday that authorities intercepted a bold attempt to smuggle suspected drugs into a prison using a drone.
Azizi said the Tapah district police headquarters received a tip-off from a prison staff member around 5pm on Friday on the incident.
The staff member discovered the drone on the roof of a prison block during a routine patrol at 11.30am.
Upon inspection, police found a laundry bag attached to the drone.
Further examination revealed a transparent plastic packet containing three smaller packets of white powder, which are suspected to be heroin.
A Malay daily reported yesterday that the Bukit Aman NCID has detected seven attempts to smuggle drugs into prisons using drones this year.
NCID Director Datuk Seri Khaw Kok Chin said while the number of cases is relatively low, the department is taking the smuggling attempts seriously, particularly in the five states involved namely in Kedah, Perak, Melaka, Kelantan, and Sarawak.