JOHOR BAHRU, April 2 — The Johor police crippled a drug trafficking syndicate when it raided two premises in Seri Alam and Johor Bahru on Monday (March 30) and Tuesday (March 31), seizing drugs worth RM1.24 million and arresting seven individuals.
State police chief Datuk Ab Rahaman Arsad said the seven people arrested in the two raids, conducted by the Narcotics Crime Investigation Department (NCID) of the Johor police headquarters, comprised five men, including a Singaporean, and two women, including a Vietnamese, all aged between 31 and 60.
In the first raid on a house in Taman Megah Ria, Seri Alam, they arrested five individuals: three Malaysian men, a Singaporean man, and a Malaysian woman, and seized various types of drugs, including MDMA powder weighing 7.8kg worth RM1.17 million.
"We also seized liquid MDMA (weighing 2.4 litres, worth RM1,400); ecstasy powder (1,098g, RM13,200); 80 Erimin 5 pills (22g, RM1,600); two packets of syabu (26g, RM1,300); and various drug repackaging equipment,” he said during a media conference at the headquarters today.
In the second raid on a shoplot in Taman Sri Tebrau, they arrested two more suspects, a Vietnamese woman and a Malaysian man.
"In that raid, police also seized various types of drugs, including MDMA (69g), 212 ecstasy pills (65.08g), ketamine, four packets of syabu (100g), two packets of heroin (174g) and liquid ketamine (104.00ml),” Ab Rahaman said.
The police also confiscated various assets, including two cars, a motorcycle, and cash totalling RM58,553.21, bringing the overall seizures and confiscations to an estimated RM1.30 million.
He added that the syndicate's modus operandi was to store and repackage the drugs in 'gated and guarded’ premises before distributing them to the local market and selling them to regular customers at entertainment centres.
Preliminary investigations found that one of the suspects, a 38-year-old Malaysian, acted as the syndicate’s coordinator, overseeing drug distribution activities, while the other suspects acted as suppliers and repackaged the drugs, as well as looked for customers.
"The drugs seized could have supplied 33,537 addicts, while six of the suspects tested positive for methamphetamine and one for benzodiazepine.
"All the suspects have been remanded for seven days until April 6 to assist in investigations,” Ab Rahaman said, noting that the case is being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
