GEORGE TOWN: Penang police seized 17 packages of Chinese tea suspected to contain syabu, weighing 17.3 kilogrammes (kg) and worth RM571,500, in a raid on a house in Taman Panchor Indah, Nibong Tebal near here yesterday.
Its deputy police chief, Datuk Mohamed Usof Jan Mohamad (pix) said his team also detained a man, aged 51, in the raid carried out at 8 pm by a police team from the Penang Narcotics Crime Investigation Department (JSJN) as a result of intelligence and public information.
“During the raid, the man was outside his rented house with a package of Chinese tea and during an inspection, police found 16 more packages of syabu,“ he said at a press conference at the Penang police contingent headquarters (IPK) here today.
“All the drugs are believed to have been brought in from neighbouring countries by a network of drug trafficking syndicates before being handed over to the man to be stored in his house.”
He said the unemployed man rented the house to store the drugs before distributing them to customers in the state but he lived in another house with his family.
Based on the investigation, Mohamed Usuf said the man, who has 11 previous criminal records and tested positive for drugs, had been carrying out the distribution activity since October last year. Police also confiscated cash and a car worth RM19,200 in total.
In another development, Mohamed Usuf said police arrested two men and a woman, and confiscated various types of drugs including methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA), ecstasy pills and syabu, all worth RM27,940, in a raid on an apartment in Tanjung Tokong here at 11 pm yesterday.
He said based on the investigation, the three locals, aged 20 to 30, had the expertise to produce a mixture of MDMA before repackaging it into famous instant drink packs and selling them in entertainment centres in Penang’s Northeast district.
“Those arrested stayed together in the rented apartment and worked as cooks and waiters in restaurants. Our investigation found that each pack of instant drink containing MDMA was sold for between RM150 and RM200,“ he also said.
He added that one of those arrested tested positive for drugs and following the arrest of the three individuals, the police also seized a car worth RM65,000. –Bernama
