Raids yield RM22mil in syabu

Busted – drug ring with ties in three states

MARANG: More than 300kg of syabu worth about RM22mil was seized in a series of raids in Terengganu, Selangor and Penang, the biggest seizure of the drug this year.

The drugs were packed in Chinese tea packets and smuggled into the country from Thailand via Kelantan and Terengganu, police said.

The raids, conducted on Sept 25 by the Bukit Aman Narcotics Crime Investigation Department (NCID) and the Special Tactical Intelligence Narcotics Group, busted the drug syndicate, which operated at Bukit Payung in Terengganu as well as Klang and Penang.

Bukit Aman NCID director Comm Datuk Seri Mohmad Salleh said six suspects aged between 25 and 53 were arrested.

“In the first series of raids, we arrested two suspects in Bukit Payung and seized 288.5kg of syabu stored in a lorry container, followed by another suspect in Klang.

“Three others were also detained in Penang and we seized 20.5kg of syabu. I

“In total, the drugs are worth about RM22mil,” he said in his first press conference as NCID director yesterday.

Comm Mohmad took over from Comm Datuk Seri Mohd Mokhtar Mohd Shariff on Sept 15.

“The drug syndicates are changing their modus operandi by using Kelantan as an entry point into Malaysia to avoid detection. Before this, they used other routes including Bukit Kayu Hitam,” Comm Mohmad said.

He added that the department was still in the midst of identifying the mastermind.

“It is still in the early stages but our investigation will unearth more of the syndicate’s tactics.

“We are working with our Thai counterparts to ensure that drug smuggling across the Malaysian border is stopped,” he said.