Cops bust family-run ganja business
JOHOR BARU: Seven people are keeping it all in the family – including their drug distribution business.
The 64-year-old patriarch known as Syed is the leader of the group, while his wife, three children and two in-laws helped him with the operation that has been going on since last year.
Johor police chief Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said the modus operandi of the Syed syndicate was to bring in slabs of ganja from Thailand to Johor before distributing it to the local market.
The syndicate was crippled with the arrest of four men and three women in four raids in the Johor Baru north and Iskandar Puteri areas, he told reporters yesterday.
Comm Ayob said the raids also led to the discovery of 109kg of ganja worth about RM272,500.
Eight vehicles, RM23,190 in cash and jewellery worth about RM178,640 were also seized.
The main suspect, Syed, is a repeat offender who was jailed in 2003 on drug charges and was released in 2013.
Those arrested, aged between 35
and 64, included a Thai woman who is the main suspect’s daughterin-law.
One suspect tested positive for drugs while two others have drug-related criminal records.
The suspects will be remanded under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act for investigation.
Comm Ayob said 14,886 suspects
were arrested from Jan 1 to Sept 30 and 2,164.28kg of drugs worth RM25.76mil were seized.
On another matter, he said the Malaysian chapter of radical group Hizbut Tahrir had been found recruiting members in Johor and targeting people such as lecturers, businessmen and university students.
He said initial investigations showed there were about 80 active members in Johor and the group has set up base in Skudai since 2005.
So far, 17 police reports have been received following the Johor government’s declaration on Wednesday that it is against the group’s ideologies and teachings.
“Right now, it is still under the purview of the Religious Department but police will continue to monitor the situation.
“If it is found to have violated the law, we will not hesitate to take action against the group under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act,” said Comm Ayob.
Other than Johor, he said the group had followers in Negri Sembilan, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Pahang, Terengganu and Sabah.
On Wednesday, religious affairs committee chairman Tosrin Jarvanthi said the state government had taken steps to counter the group.