SOMETHING SINISTER ABOUT THESE COCONUT DELIVERY MEN
RM265,000 worth of drugs seized at roadblock, four men arrested by police
PENANG police crippled a drug trafficking syndicate that operated in secret behind a coconut delivery service following the arrest of four men and the seizure of 23.85kg of heroin worth RM265,000 in two separate raids here and Perak on Sunday.
State Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department chief Assistant Commissioner Mustafa Kamal Gani Abdullah said the bust took place when police stopped a lorry at a roadblock along Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway here about 10.05am. A search inside the vehicle led to the discovery of 53 packets of heroin.
He said police immediately detained the lorry driver and two of his co-drivers, aged between 26 and 32.
“Investigations showed that they were delivering the coconut supply from Bagan Datuk in Perak to Penang while carrying the drugs from there to the local market here.
“All 23.85kg of heroin seized were found hidden in the cabin compartment of the lorry. During their arrest, they had just delivered the coconuts to George Town and were on their way to deliver the drugs to the syndicate member in Prai,” he told a press conference at the state police contingent headquarters here yesterday.
Present was state police chief Datuk Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain.
Following the trio’s arrest, police also picked up a fourth man, a 35-year-old lorry driver, in Rungkup, Bagan Datuk about 4pm the same day.
He said a further probe revealed that they had been carrying out the illegal activity since April and would make between four and five trips here every
month to send coconuts and drugs.
Mustafa Kamal said the four men detained acted as delivery men and received about RM1,000 for each trip.
“All of them had previous criminal and drug records and their urine test came back positive for drugs,” he added.
In a separate case, Mustafa Kamal said police also smashed another drug trafficking syndicate with the arrest of five men, including a student at a private university here. This was accompanied by the seizure of heroin worth RM83,175.90 in a series of raids between Friday and Saturday.
He said police had stopped a lorry by the side of the road in Gelugor about 6.30pm on Friday and arrested three men who were transferring compressed ganja weighing about 24.6kg into a nearby apartment. Further checks inside the premises led police to uncover 1.9kg of heroin and 6.8g of ganja.
He said police then raided another apartment unit in the same area and seized RM7,000 in cash, believed to be proceeds from the sale of the drugs. There, police also seized a Perodua Myvi before apprehending the fourth suspect and the fifth person in George Town. All the men were aged between 22 and 46.
“The syndicate has been trafficking the ganja and heroin for the past five months and obtained their supply from a state in the north. They then stored the drugs in the rented apartments, with all the drugs meant for the local market.
“All five men tested positive for drugs and had previous criminal and drug records,” he added.
All the men nabbed for drug trafficking cases have been remanded for seven days to assist in the probe under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
If the drugs had found their way into the market, it can be consumed by some 180,000 addicts.
In another case, Mustafa Kamal said police seized 66 jewellery items worth RM284,085.60, believed to be the proceeds from the sale of drugs, following the arrest of four individuals, including a woman, in a series of raids in Seberang Prai recently.
He said all the jewellery items were kept in a safety locker in Seberang Prai for the past three years.
“With this latest seizure, this brings to RM1.5 million, the total amount of seizure, including RM790,000 in cash, nine vehicles and jewellery,” he added.
It was reported previously that a team of police launched a special operation on July 14 and smashed a drug trafficking syndicate after raiding three houses in Prai, Seberang Jaya and Simpang Ampat here.
Besides a couple, two other men were also nabbed along with drugs seized worth RM1.4 million.