GEORGE TOWN: Police arrested five men involved in processing and trafficking drugs and seized an assortment of drugs worth RM3 million when they conducted three simultaneous raids in Penang on Nov 6.
The raids, which were carried out by the Bukit Aman Narcotics Crime Investigation Department (NCID) and the Penang Police Headquarters NCID at about 9.50 pm, also uncovered a drug processing laboratory in a single-storey home.
Bukit Aman NCID director Datuk Seri Khaw Kok Chin said they arrested three men aged between 32 and 54, who are believed to be skilled in processing drugs, when they raided a house in Tanjung Bungah.
“The third suspect, 32, is the chemist while the first and second suspects, aged 53 and 54 respectively, act as his assistants.
“Upon further inspection, police found various types of drugs in a room and 40.648 kilogrammes chemicals as well as drug-processing paraphernalia,” he told a media conference at the Penang police headquarters here today.
Kok Chin said the fourth suspect, aged 59 and also believed to be the coordinator, was arrested at an apartment in Ayer Hitam while the fifth suspect, 46, was nabbed in a shop at Jalan Yeoh Guan Seok, near here.
He added that they seized 3,991 grammes of ecstasy pills and powder, 6,029 grammes of syabu and 4,997 grammes of ketamine as well as confiscated two cars and a motorcycle, with the total seizure and confiscation amounting to RM3.1 million.
Kok Chin said the syndicate’s modus operandi was to rent the house for RM2,500 a month, using it as a drug laboratory and to store the drugs before distributing them to the local markets, especially in Penang and the Klang Valley.
“Besides learning from social media, the suspects are also hard-core addicts and have vast knowledge, that’s why they can produce high-quality drugs. They are paid 50 sen for every pill and can earn RM2,000 for a packet of pills,” he said, adding that the syndicate has been active since the middle of this year.
He added that four of the suspects tested positive for drugs and that all of them have crime and drug-related records.
Kok Chin said that with the arrest of the five suspects, police believe they can solve the case in connection with the raid on a store which kept drug supplies worth over RM21 million in Kuala Lumpur in August.
All the suspects, he said, have been remanded for seven days until Wednesday (Nov 13) to assist in investigations under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
