JOHOR BAHRU: Police have smashed a drug trafficking syndicate, with the seizure of various drugs worth RM2.735 million and the arrests of eight men, in special operations on Jan 24 and 25.
Johor police chief CP M. Kumar said that the special operations were conducted by the Bukit Aman and Johor Narcotics Criminal Investigation Departments (NCID), in Tampoi, Parit Jawa in Muar, Permatang Pauh in Penang and Muadzam Shah, Pahang.
He said that all eight men, including the syndicate's mastermind, were locals, aged between 23 and 40.
“The modus operandi is to turn the house into a transit and storage house for drugs before they are smuggled by skippers to neighbouring countries via sea routes.
“It is suspected that this syndicate has been active since June last year. We are investigating and tracking down other people who are involved,” he said at a press conference, today.
The drugs seized during the raid were 82.86 kilogrammes of syabu, 2.78 grams of ecstasy pills and 2.50 grams of ketamine.
Police also seized eight cars, 12 motorcycles, various items of jewellery, cash amounting to RM10,200 and various watches, with a total value of RM1.788 million.
Kumar said that investigations showed that the seven suspects had previous convictions for crimes and drug offences, while one person was on the wanted list.
All of them have been remanded for seven days, until Jan 31, under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
