JOHOR BAHRU: Police busted a drug trafficking and processing syndicate after arresting a pair of lovers and seizing various types of drugs worth more than RM2 million in separate raids here and in Iskandar Puteri on August 17.
Johor police chief CP M Kumar said the raid between 3.30 pm and 11.30 pm was carried out by the Johor Criminal Investigation Department (CID) together with the South Johor Bahru NCID and the Setia Indah police station.
He said a 31-year-old foreign man who is also the mastermind of the syndicate was arrested at a house in Eko Flora, while his lover who is a 38-year-old local woman was arrested on the roadside in Setia Indah.
“The modus operandi of the syndicate is believed to be actively distributing for the local market and neighbouring countries since May by using rented premises in gated and guarded areas to process drugs from raw materials and have the expertise to process them.
“They are also believed to be producing vape liquid containing drugs and distribute drugs in small quantities through syndicate members who act as runners,“ he said at a press conference at the Johor police contingent headquarters here today.
Kumar said from questioning, various drugs were found in a terraced house and an apartment around this district which consisted of 40 packets of ecstasy powder, 20.21 litres of ecstasy liquid, seven erimin 5 pills, 42 ecstasy pills, 40 epam nitrazepam pills and 2,600 grammes of syabu.
He said police also seized drug processing equipment and percusor chemicals used in drug processing and seized a car, RM131,598 in cash, jewellery, Singapore dollar cash (SGD100) and three bank accounts with a total value of RM630,596.
In the meantime, he said the man is believed to have expertise to process drugs from scheduled substances including methanol and acid sulfate and explained that an investigation is being carried out to trace how the substance was obtained.
According to him the man was also found to be positive for methylenedioxymethamphetamine and the woman was positive for benzodiazepines and both of them who have no previous criminal record were remanded for 14 days starting August 18 according to Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
