SHAH ALAM: Selangor police have crippled a drug trafficking syndicate with the arrest of five men, including an Indonesian citizen, and seized a total of 12 kg of drugs worth RM1.59 million, in a raid on a two-storey shophouse at Brickfields, Wednesday.
Selangor police chief Datuk Noor Azam Jamaludin said the raid at 4.30pm was done in collaboration with the Kuala Lumpur Police Contingent Headquarters, based on intelligence received.
The premises were believed to be the place of operation, drug storage and residence of all suspects, he told a press conference, here today.
He said the drug, believed to be syabu was found in six 1 kg Chinese tea packets as well as 16 packets containing ‘heroin base’ weighing 379 grams each, believed to be for the local market and possibly distributed in nightclubs.
“The 6 kg of syabu can be supplied to 12,120 addicts a day while 6 kg of heroin base could produce 72 kg of heroin that can be supplied to 240,000 addicts a day,” he said.
“Police also seized RM50,000 in cash kept in a shophouse and confiscated three cars, Honda Accord, Toyota Vios and Proton Saga, owned by the suspects,” he said.
Noor Azam said the suspects, aged between 38 to 55 years old, were working as a salesperson, trader and cook, respectively, while police are still investigating the role of the Indonesian man.
He said further investigation found that three of the local suspects had previous criminal records with two individuals possessing a criminal record, while another individual had two drug-related records and three criminal records.
He said the preliminary urine tests screening found three of the suspects positive for syabu, and currently, all were remanded until next Wednesday to assist in the investigation under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
In a different case, Noor Azam said the police had foiled an attempt to smuggle out 2.3 kg of syabu worth RM113,900, after arresting a local man at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (klia2) at about 12.30 midnight on Wednesday.
He said the 51-year-old man believed to be the drug mule, was arrested as he looked suspicious when walking towards the Royal Malaysian Customs Department’s scanner.
“Further investigation found that the suspect carried drugs in six transparent plastic packets strapped to his calf and thigh. When arrested, the suspect is believed to have been headed to South Korea. His purpose is still being investigated.
“Investigations also found that the drugs are meant to be smuggled to the East Asian country where the market price could soar up to RM200,000 per kg for syabu compared to around RM50,000 in the local market. Police believe that this smuggling activity is masterminded by local syndicates,” he said.
He said interrogation found that it was the suspect’s second time doing it and he was believed to have succeeded in his previous attempt.
Noor Azam added that the suspect was recruited as a drug mule through Facebook for RM8,000 and police were tracking the syndicate that also operated through the WeChat app.
“The syndicate was found using both social media platform to advertise travel packages abroad while carrying drugs with lucrative payment.
“The public is advised to not easily be fooled by such dubious offers and immediately contact us if they feel trapped,” he said.
Noor Azam said the suspect possessed a past criminal and a drug-related record, and urine screening found that the man tested positive for syabu.
He added that the man has been remanded until this Tuesday under Section 117 of the Criminal Procedure Code and the case was being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952. — Bernama
