GEORGE TOWN: Police thwarted two drug trafficking syndicates with the arrest of a married couple and two men and the seizure of various types of drugs worth RM528,415 in a series of raids around Timur Laut district here last week.
Penang acting police chief Datuk Mohamed Usuf Jan Mohamad (pix) said that, in the first case, the police arrested a man at the car park of a supermarket in Tanjung Tokong at 4 pm on Thursday (March 14) and seized five packets of 5,170 grammes of crystal-like chunks worth RM170,610.
“Interrogation led to the arrest of the suspect’s wife at a house in the Gelugor area and the seizure of four packets of 4,140g crystal-like chunks worth RM136,620.
“The police then raided another house in Gelugor and arrested another man, who is a member of the drug trafficking syndicate that masterminded the married couple. However, no drugs were found on the third suspect,“ he told a press conference at the Penang contingent police headquarters today.
He said the three locals, aged 36 to 41, were believed to have been involved in drug trafficking activities for the local market since February and that all the drugs seized could be used by as many as 45,000 addicts.
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Mohamed Usuf said that following the arrest of the three individuals, the police seized cash, a Toyota Avanza, a BMW motorcycle, and an assortment of jewellery worth RM99,602.
He said the first man arrested was a businessman and the owner of a pub in the state, while the other two were unemployed, and all of them have been remanded until March 21 to assist in investigations under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
In the second case, Mohamed Usuf said the police arrested a 50-year-old local man at an apartment in Batu Lanchang at 4 pm last Friday (March 15) and seized 26g of ketamine before raiding another house in Batu Lanchang.
He said during the raid, the police also seized 110g of ketamine, 29 ecstasy pills, 63g of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), and 30 Eramin 5 pills suspected to have been mixed into a popular instant pre-mix drink brand.
He said that based on information from the suspect, the police raided another house in Jalan Datuk Keramat and seized 138 packets of instant pre-mix drink containing MDMA drugs weighing 2,663.6g.
“The MDMA drugs are meant for distribution in entertainment centres and the suspect around the state, and the suspect is believed to have been active since October last year. The total value of the drugs seized is RM221,185,“ he said.
Mohamed Usuf said that the suspect, who tested positive for drugs and had previous criminal and drug-related records, has been remanded until March 22 to facilitate investigations under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
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