JOHOR BAHRU, Sept 8 — The police seized 80 kg of syabu worth nearly RM2.6 million following a raid on a house in Bandar Penawar, Kota Tinggi, Johor, on Tuesday (September 2).
Johor police chief CP Datuk Ab Rahaman Arsad said the raid was conducted by the Kota Tinggi District Narcotics Criminal Investigation Division and the Johor Contingent Police Headquarters Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department (NCID) from 10.30pm until 4am.
They arrested a local man and woman, as well as an Indonesian woman aged between 34 and 43.
“…Johor NCID seized 80,330 grams, or about 80 kg of suspected syabu, packed in 76 Chinese tea packages. The drugs are estimated to be worth RM2,570,560,” he told a press conference at the Johor Police Contingent Headquarters today.
Rahaman added that the syndicate's modus operandi, which is believed to have been active since April last year, was to store drugs in gated and guarded terraced houses before distributing them to overseas markets, particularly in Riau and Batam, Indonesia.
He said the seized drugs could have been supplied to 401,650 drug abusers had they reached the market.
The police also seized four cars with a total estimated value of RM400,000, two motorcycles valued at RM40,000, cash totalling RM4,000, Indonesian Rupiah amounting to Rp14 million (approximately RM3,607), and jewellery valued at RM21,497.93.
“In total, the value of the seized drugs and related assets amounts to RM2,980,664.93. All three suspects have been remanded until September 9 for further investigation,” Rahaman said.
The case is being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries the death penalty or life imprisonment and up to 15 strokes of the cane.
Two of the suspects tested positive for methamphetamine, and checks revealed that the male suspect had nine prior criminal records while the local woman had six drug- and crime-related offences.
He said the Indonesian woman is also being probed under the Immigration Act 1959/63 to verify the authenticity of her travel documents.
Meanwhile, between January 1 and September 3 this year, the Johor NCID arrested 17,242 individuals for various drug offences, seizing 1.47 tonnes of drugs and 6,921.45 litres of liquid drugs worth RM125.88 million, along with syndicate-linked assets estimated at RM12.92 million.
Rahaman urged the public to channel information on drug trafficking activities to the police via the NCID hotline at 012-2087222.
