KOTA KINABALU – Police have seized 42 air rifles of various brands and 456 small boxes of pellets and arrested an oil palm smallholder during an operation in Sook, Keningau, yesterday.
Keningau District Police Chief Supt Erwansyah Abdul Basir said the operation, codenamed âOp Larasâ, led officers to a hut where the 50-year-old local man was detained. He was arrested after failing to produce a valid licence or permit for possessing the weapons.
âInitial investigations revealed that the suspect is believed to have been running an activity selling air rifles at prices ranging from RM350 to RM500 per rifle around the Keningau district,â Erwansyah said in a statement today.
He added, âThe pellets were believed to be sold at prices between RM30 and RM50 for each pack containing 10 small boxes, and police also seized five camo-patterned gun bags.â
Police are now working to trace the source of the supply. They are also looking into the possibility that the weapons network extends overseas.
The case is being investigated under Section 8(a) of the Firearms Act 1960, which covers possession of unlicensed weapons.
Police are also considering the application of Section 7 of the Firearms (Penalties) Act 1971, which concerns the offence of trafficking firearms.
Erwansyah stressed that police take any activity involving the possession and sale of unlicensed weapons very seriously, as it can threaten public security. He appealed to members of the public with information to pass it on to the police.
Keningau is an interior district in Sabah, located about 120 kilometres south of Kota Kinabalu. Its position away from the main urban centres means enforcement operations of this kind often depend on local intelligence and community cooperation.
Air rifles are commonly assumed to be harmless, but under Malaysian law they are regulated, and possessing or selling them without the proper licence can lead to criminal charges.
The scale of this seizure, together with the pricing details released by police, suggests that officers believe the suspect was selling the weapons commercially rather than holding them for personal use.
Investigations are continuing, and police have not said whether further arrests are expected. Authorities generally encourage anyone who knows of illegal weapons sales in their neighbourhood to report them through their nearest police station so that officers can act before the weapons reach more buyers. â Sarawak Daily
