GEORGE TOWN – An attempt to smuggle 105kg of syabu worth RM3.8 million into Indonesia was foiled by police here after it was seized from a boat near Sg Bakap in Seberang Prai Selatan.
State police chief Datuk Sahabudin Abd Manan said in a statement today that the northern region’s marine police and Marine Intelligence Unit on surveillance spotted a 57-year-old local man and a 36-year-old Indonesian at an illegal jetty in Bagan Bukit Tambun yesterday.
“Upon checking the fibre boat, police found yellow plastic packages labelled ‘GUANYINWANG’, containing drugs believed to be on its way to Indonesia.”
He said initial investigations found that a syndicate had been active since May last year and that one of the suspects was found to have been involved in the distribution of cannabis in 2011.
The seized drugs were estimated to supply 210,000 addicts in the market.
The case is being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drug Act, 1952, which carries a mandatory death sentence or life imprisonment.
In March, Penang police in a similar operation seized RM5.2 million worth of syabu in Batu Ferringhi and Teluk Bahang.
Two men, including a Bangladesh national, were arrested and 144.7kg of syabu seized during the raids.
Sahabudin said police uncovered the syndicate following the arrest of a 54-year-old unemployed man, who was initially spotted driving in Jalan Batu Ferringhi.
The suspect sped away to the beach area after realising the presence of police and then abandoned the car. However, police managed to arrest the man, who is believed to be the mastermind of the syndicate.
Police searched the Mercedes-Benz driven by the suspect and found 15 packets of syabu weighing 15kg and worth RM540,000, a pistol, a magazine with 14 bullets and a box containing 39 rounds of live ammunition.
Following the arrest, police also seized seven mobile phones and two Volkswagen cars before they raided a terrace house in Teluk Bahang, where the 35-year-old Bangladeshi man was arrested.
Sahabudin said that police found 129.7kg of syabu, believed to be worth RM4.6 million, in the house, which was believed to be used to store the drugs.
Police also seized two cars and a motorcycle.
Initial investigations found that the syndicate, which has an international drug distribution network, obtained its supply from Thailand, and the contraband was kept at the house before it was smuggled to Indonesia by sea.
The syndicate was believed to carry out its dealings at sea to avoid detection. – The Vibes, May 28, 2021
