Syndicate fluent in Mandarin may be behind drug lab in Penang
BANGKOK: A “Mandarin-speaking” syndicate is suspected to be the mastermind behind the large drug laboratory in Penang that was discovered and busted two weeks ago, according to Thailand’s Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB) officer.
The transnational syndicate is believed to comprise Mandarinspeaking members with links in Hong Kong, Taiwan, China and Malaysia.
“This is our initial intelligence assessment of the syndicate behind Penang’s drug bust in the middle of September.
“We monitored phone calls made by suspected members to ‘someone’ in Guangzhou and Hong Kong,” said NSB deputy head Major-Gen Thanai Apichartsenee here.
He said besides eavesdropping on “communications” by suspected members, the NSB was also tracking the money trail left by them to enable authorities to identify key individuals and the mastermind.
About two weeks ago, Bukit Aman’s Narcotics Crime Investigation Department (NCID) raided a factory in Penang and discovered a drug laboratory producing millions of party drugs.
The police also seized two million Erimin 5 pills, over 700kg of Erimin 5 powder, syabu, Ecstacy and other chemical substances to produce drugs, as well as drug paraphernalia estimated to be worth about RM72mil.
The seizure was said to be the largest made by the department and could supply up to five million users.
The successful raid was the result of close cooperation between NCID, NSB and China’s police.
Upon information relayed by Bukit Aman, NSB tracked down two Malaysian suspects – a man and a woman – believed to be members of the syndicate after their arrival in Suvarnabhumi Airport from Hong Kong on Sept 4.
The NSB trailed them throughout their stay in Bangkok before they took a flight to the southern town of Hatyai on Sept 11.
There, the two highly wanted Malaysians took the longer land route to Betong and crossed into Pengkalan Hulu, Perak, where they were arrested by Bukit Aman police.
According to Thanai, the drugs produced by the syndicate in Penang were mainly for export.
“One of the key markets is the Philippines and the others are believed to Australia, Taiwan and Indonesia,” he said.
A highly placed source in NSB said syndicate members from Taiwan, China and Hong Kong had been stepping up their involvement in the Golden Triangle, where most of the synthetic drugs for the global market were produced.