KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 — The police have crippled a drug trafficking syndicate after seizing 425.3kg of methamphetamine worth an estimated RM21.3 million in operations in Cheras.
Bukit Aman Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said the syndicate's suspected mastermind and five other men aged between 39 and 46 were also arrested in the operations conducted from Saturday (July 25) until yesterday.
The suspected mastermind is a police officer in his 30s who has been suspended from duty for the past two years. Checks show that he has one previous drug-related offence.
"The syndicate, which has been active since early this year, involved members from Kelantan and used terrace houses around the Klang Valley as storage facilities before distributing the drugs to local and overseas markets," he said during a media conference at the Cheras district police headquarters today.
Hussein added that all the suspects had been remanded for six days, until Friday (July 31), to assist in the investigations.
The police have also identified the remaining members of the syndicate and will take aggressive action to eradicate their drug distribution activities. The case is being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1956.
Meanwhile, in a separate case, he said the man rescued in a kidnapping case involving a RM7 million ransom demand in Selangor recently was suspected of being directly involved in a local drug distribution syndicate.
The man, who has been detained under the Dangerous Drugs (Special Preventive Measures) Act 1985, was still being investigated to identify other networks believed to be linked to his activity.
"We are still investigating other members involved in the network, and the victim is believed to be directly involved in a local drug distribution syndicate," Hussein said.
In a special operation in Selangor on Sunday (July 19), the police rescued a man who was reported kidnapped and arrested six individuals aged between 30 and 46 who were believed to have demanded a RM7 million ransom.
