AADK denies breaching SOPs in nabbing suspected drug user

The National Anti-Drugs Agency says the individual was brought to its Cheras office after trying to flee from officers twice.

PETALING JAYA:

The National Anti-Drugs Agency (AADK) has denied claims that its officers had flouted SOPs while apprehending a man it suspected was a drug user, after the issue went viral online.

The agency said the incident on June 11 in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, saw officers detaining an individual classified as a suspected drug user.

It said its officers had followed the SOP of introducing themselves and showing their AADK badges to the individual.

“However, while detaining that person, there was another individual at the same location acting in a suspicious manner. When the AADK officers tried to approach him, he ran away. That gave reasonable suspicion to detain him.

“After both of them were detained, AADK officers again displayed their badges. While checks on the MyAADK system were being done, one of them pushed an AADK officer away to try to escape for a second time.

“That led to him being arrested and brought to the Cheras AADK office for documentation and tests to determine if he was a drug user,” it said in a statement.

AADK said he was later cleared of drug use and was freed.

It said the documentation process took a while because of the high number of detainees at the time following an operation.

“However, the process of detaining the individual did not go over 24 hours and still complied with SOPs under the Drug Dependants (Treatment and Rehabilitation) Act 1983.

“AADK views the conduct of officers seriously and will be more careful in carrying out its duties,” it said.

Previously, a netizen took to X to ask for the public to help locate her missing younger brother. She later learned that he had been apprehended by AADK.

X user @syaidilmuna later said her brother was on the way home from work when two individuals in plain clothes approached him and asked him to furnish his MyKad. She claimed that they did not introduce themselves.

She said her brother sustained a minor scratch after a scuffle with AADK officers. While at the AADK lockup, he was not allowed to contact his family members, and was forced to share a cell with drug addicts, she said.

She claimed the incident had traumatised him and that AADK was in breach of its SOPs, particularly to inform family members of suspected drug users within 24 hours.

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AADK denies breaching SOPs in nabbing suspected drug user

The individual was later released after being cleared by a urine test, but the anti-drugs agency claims he tried to flee from officers.