Six arrested, syabu worth RM15.3m seized
GEORGE TOWN: Police have crippled a drug syndicate with the seizure of 306kg of syabu, packed in tea packets, worth RM15.3 million, on Friday.
Police had earlier launched three separate raids — two in Kuala Nerang, Kedah, and one in Jelutong, Penang — where six suspects, aged 19 to 37, including a 30-year-old woman, were held.
None of the raids at the three locations yielded the large haul of drugs.
Federal Narcotic Investigation Department director Datuk Seri Mohmad Salleh said following interrogation, police raided a parking lot of an apartment in Jelutong here, where they found 295 tea packets containing 306kg of drugs inside a car.
“Each of the tea packets was valued about RM50,000. Each packet weighs about 1kg, but some weigh more than 1kg.
“The seized drugs can be sold to 1,500 drug addicts.
“We are investigating the source of the drugs, but we believe that they were obtained from neighbouring countries in the north. The tea packets looked similar to the ones seized in previous drugs bust,” he said at the state police contingent headquarters here yesterday.
A small amount of Malaysian ringgit and Thai baht was also seized together with the car and a Rado watch.
The woman detained is the wife of one of the suspects.
Urine tests conducted on the woman and two others returned negative, while the remaining three tested positive.
Mohmad said the suspects would do odd jobs daily but would focus on illicit activities.
He added that a few syndicate members were still at large and police were tracking them down.
“Penang is seen as a strategic location for drug syndicates because it has access to the sea and land to traffic drugs.
“The seized drugs are meant for the local market and neighbouring countries.”
The six arrested have been remanded under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries the mandatory death penalty.