GEORGE TOWN – Penang police have seized RM25.87 million worth of drugs and assets, enough to supply more than two million users, in a major operation by the state’s narcotics division.
It is regarded as one of the biggest seizures in the state’s history and has severed a major drug pipeline into the Klang Valley black market, as well as crippled activities of one syndicate, said state police chief Datuk Sahabudin Abdul Manan.
The supply chain originates from southern Thailand, where the drugs are packed into sachets to pass off as herbal and green tea, as well as three-in-one coffee mixtures.
The shipment is then smuggled into the country, with Penang acting as a temporary transit before it is moved to the Klang Valley to meet the needs of more than two million users.
Acting on tip-offs last Monday, the police stopped a black Peugeot car at an industrial park in Nibong Tebal, where authorities uncovered 100 packages of syabu worth RM4.68 million.
After an interrogation, the driver revealed the existence of a storeroom, where various designer narcotics caches, worth RM21.19 million, were discovered.
Among the drugs seized were syabu, ecstasy, heroin base and ketamine.
An ensuing raid saw police arresting a second suspect in Nibong Tebal.
The driver, who is the first suspect, is 37 years old and married with two children.
He is seen as the mastermind of the syndicate and tested positive for the same drugs that he was peddling. He also has three criminal records.
The second suspect, 43, is an online merchandise trader and married with three children.
He did not test positive for drugs nor has any criminal record.
Sahabudin said both suspects have been remanded for seven days and will be investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drug Act 1952, where they face death or life imprisonment and a minimum 15 strokes of the rotan, if found guilty.
The police also confiscated a vehicle, cash worth RM11,200, three pieces of jewellery worth RM15,360 and a savings account containing RM203,171.82.
Altogether, the figure comprising street value of the drugs and assets totalled RM25.87 million.
“We believe that we have crippled one syndicate with the arrests of the two suspects, including the mastermind,” said Sahabudin.
He added that police have identified the smuggling route used by the syndicate, adding that the drug supply was exclusively for the Klang Valley. – The Vibes, December 26, 2020
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