LAHAD DATU - A drug dealer was shot after turning aggressive and later escaping during a roadblock under Op Tapis at a palm oil Industrial Area here.
In the incident at about 11.45am on Friday, the 28-year-old suspect on a Perodua Viva was carrying 7.45 grams of syabu worth RM1,490 and a samurai sword.
Lahad Datu police chief Rohan Shah Ahmad said the narcotics team had to open fire in self-defence after running into a suspect during the operation.
"Acting on information on drug trafficking activities, a police team was about to stop a car the suspect was riding in, the suspect suddenly backed his vehicle aggressively and hit into one of the policemen.
"The suspect then made a 'u-turn' before accelerating his vehicle against the traffic and crashed into another policeman who tried to stop the suspect.
"The policeman managed to fire at the suspect in self-defence," he said in a statement on Sunday.
The suspect had then tried to speed up his vehicle to escape but crashed 400 meters from the roadblock. "Further examination found that the suspect was unconscious before being confirmed dead by medical officers," he added.
Further checks revealed that the suspect had five previous criminal records involving various narcotics offences and was on the wanted list for a commercial crime case, he said.
The case is being investigated under Section 307 of the Penal Code for attempted murder and Section 39A(1) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 for distributing syabu.
In the incident at about 11.45am on Friday, the 28-year-old suspect on a Perodua Viva was carrying 7.45 grams of syabu worth RM1,490 and a samurai sword.
Lahad Datu police chief Rohan Shah Ahmad said the narcotics team had to open fire in self-defence after running into a suspect during the operation.
"Acting on information on drug trafficking activities, a police team was about to stop a car the suspect was riding in, the suspect suddenly backed his vehicle aggressively and hit into one of the policemen.
"The suspect then made a 'u-turn' before accelerating his vehicle against the traffic and crashed into another policeman who tried to stop the suspect.
"The policeman managed to fire at the suspect in self-defence," he said in a statement on Sunday.
The suspect had then tried to speed up his vehicle to escape but crashed 400 meters from the roadblock. "Further examination found that the suspect was unconscious before being confirmed dead by medical officers," he added.
Further checks revealed that the suspect had five previous criminal records involving various narcotics offences and was on the wanted list for a commercial crime case, he said.
The case is being investigated under Section 307 of the Penal Code for attempted murder and Section 39A(1) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 for distributing syabu.