RM1.6mil of cannabis seized
Four suspects remanded in largest drug haul so far this year
ALOR SETAR: Police arrested four men and seized 533 slabs of cannabis, valued at RM1.58mil, in an operation in Kuala Kedah.
The operation began when a 33-year-old man was detained in his MPV at a traffic light on Jalan Kuala Kedah at about 6.20am on Wednesday.
He is believed to be on his way to Kuala Lumpur at the time.
Bukit Aman Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department (NCID) director Datuk Seri Mohmad Salleh said policemen found the slabs of compressed cannabis in gunny sacks hidden in the vehicle’s boot.
He said police believed the drugs were meant to be sold at markets in the peninsula, as well as in Sabah and Sarawak.
An hour after that arrest, police detained three other men near the estuary of Sungai Kuala Kedah.
These suspects and the first man arrested are believed to be members of the same syndicate.
Aged between 20 and 33, they are odd-job workers and do not have criminal records. All four have been remanded for a week.
“The MPV driver is believed to have been paid by someone to transport the cannabis to Kuala Lumpur.
“He gets RM3,000 per trip,” Mohmad told reporters at the Kedah police contingent headquarters yesterday.
The case is being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries the mandatory death penalty on conviction.
“We believe there will be more arrests. The drugs are believed to have been brought in from a neigh- bouring country before they came into Satun (Thailand) and were smuggled into Malaysia,” said Mohmad, adding that this operation marked the biggest drug haul so far this year.
The operation was carried out by Bukit Aman’s Special Tactical and Intelligence Narcotics Group in collaboration with the Kedah Narcotics Crime Investigation Department.