RM35.24m drug haul: Foreigners allegedly ran international syndicate

POLICE have busted a suspected international drug syndicate allegedly led by two foreigners holding Canadian and Australian passports, seizing drugs worth an estimated RM35.24 million in six raids across Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.

Bukit Aman Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department (JSJN) director Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said 11 suspects, aged between 25 and 48, were arrested during Op Rumbia on Sept 10, including the two foreigners believed to be the syndicate leaders and chemists.

“Of the 11 arrested, two of them are foreigners who are the syndicate leaders and also acted as ‘chemists’,” he told a press conference at the Kuala Lumpur Police Training Centre in Kuala Lumpur today.

Checks found that the man holding an Australian passport was believed to be a Vietnamese national, while the Canadian passport holder was suspected to be a South Korean national, Hussein said.

He said both suspects had entered Malaysia using social visit passes, while the raw materials used to process the drugs were also believed to have been sourced from overseas.

The first raid, at a bungalow in Ampang, led to the seizure of 345kg of powder suspected to be methamphetamine, 347kg of liquid suspected to be methamphetamine and 320g of MDMA powder.

“Police also found a .38 revolver with seven live rounds, as well as various machines and equipment believed to have been used to process drugs,” he said.

The second raid, at a condominium in Petaling, uncovered 30.5kg of MDMA powder, 20g of cannabis and 63g of Erimin 5 pills.

Hussein said the third to sixth raids were conducted in Kepong and Brickfields, while the fifth premises in Subang Jaya was believed to have been undergoing conversion into a drug laboratory.

The syndicate is believed to have been active since January, using bungalows in residential areas as makeshift drug processing laboratories.

“The drugs seized are believed to exceed the requirements of the local market and were intended for the international market. Among the routes identified were from the peninsula to Indonesia, Sabah, Sarawak and the Philippines, as well as several other countries via air routes,” he said.

Police also seized 11 vehicles, an Audemars Piguet watch worth more than RM1 million, two bank cards and RM3,610 in cash.

Hussein said five suspects were remanded for between 13 and 14 days, while six others were released on police bail and made witnesses. - September 17, 2026