GEORGE TOWN: The Penang police crippled a drug trafficking syndicate using 3-in-1 tea, chocolate and coffee sachets in its modus operandi and seized drugs worth RM338,250 in two separate raids carried out in the state on Wednesday.
State police chief Datuk T. Narenasagaran said based on the investigation and intelligence gathered in the past few weeks, police detained a local man who was driving a car at Pulau Tikus here at 11pm before carrying out the second raid at a house in Jelutong.
“During the raid in Jelutong, police detained three local men and a Vietnamese woman and discovered their activities of mixing popular 3-in-1 beverages such as chocolate, tea and coffee with drugs.”
Based on the investigation, it was found that the syndicate bought the drinks before placing the drugs in the sachets and selling them for RM200 at entertainment outlets around Penang, he told a press conference today.
Narenasagaran said during the raid, police seized 276 sachets of drinks of various brands containing drugs namely, 5,070 eramine-5 tablets, 2,000 ecstasy tablets, ketamine (1,217gm), MDMA (381gm), syabu (47gm), as well as the processing equipment.
Police also seized a car, cash and money in a bank account, all worth RM52,418.29, he said, adding that the seized drugs could be used by 15,800 drug users.
“All five suspects, who are unemployed, have been remanded for seven days to facilitate the investigations under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952,” he said. — Bernama
