GEORGE TOWN, Aug 28 (Bernama) -- Penang police have crippled three drug trafficking syndicates following the arrest of seven locals, including a married couple, and the seizure of various types of drugs worth RM3.2 million in a series of recent raids across the state.
Penang police chief Datuk Dennis Lim Kwang Keng said the operations, conducted by the state contingent’s Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department (NCID) and district narcotics units between Aug 15 and 22, covered the Timur Laut, Seberang Perai Utara (SPU) and Seberang Perai Tengah (SPT) districts.
He said the operations were carried out following months of intelligence gathering and surveillance.
“In the Timur Laut district, police arrested four individuals, three men and a woman aged between 25 and 35, in operations conducted on Aug 15 and 16.
The raids led to the seizure of 38.3 kilogrammes of cannabis powder, 11.5 kilogrammes of cannabis buds, 14 kilogrammes of syabu (crystal methamphetamine), five kilogrammes of ketamine, 16 kilogrammes of ecstasy pills and 4,000 Erimin 5 pills.
“Investigations revealed that the syndicate was masterminded by a married couple, aged 26 and 25. They are believed to have sourced cannabis buds and cannabis from a neighbouring country for distribution in the state and are suspected of having been operating since May,” he told a press conference here today.
Meanwhile, in the SPU district, Lim said police arrested two men, aged 23 and 46, in separate raids in Butterworth on Aug 15 and 19.
He said police seized 3.25 kilogrammes and 1.3 kilogrammes of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) powder, respectively, from the two suspects.
“Investigations revealed that the suspects obtained MDMA supplies, disguised as various instant beverage mixes, from a drug trafficking syndicate before selling them to customers throughout the state, particularly at entertainment centres.
“The two men are believed to have been involved in the activity for the past three months, selling the MDMA powder at prices starting from RM100. Further investigations are underway to trace the syndicate network responsible for processing and distributing the drugs,” he said.
In the SPT district, Lim said police arrested a 28-year-old unemployed man at an apartment in Bukit Mertajam on Aug 22.
“The raid resulted in the seizure of 8.5 kilogrammes of MDMA powder, 1,755 ecstasy pills, 100 Erimin 5 pills, 0.63 kilogrammes of ketamine and nine cartridges of liquid crystal methamphetamine.
“The suspect has been remanded until Aug 29, and all the cases are being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952,” he said.
Lim added that urine screening tests showed that four of the suspects tested positive for morphine, amphetamine and methamphetamine, while background checks found that five had previous criminal and narcotics-related records.
He said police also seized various assets, including cars and motorcycles, with a total value of RM89,000 during the operations.
“The three groups were separate syndicates and had no links to one another,” he said.
-- BERNAMA