Police Foil Three Drug Syndicates, Seize Drugs Worth Over RM180 Million

KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 (Bernama) -- The Bukit Aman Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department (NCID) has busted three drug trafficking syndicates, including an international network from the Golden Triangle, with total seizures valued at RM180.2 million in integrated operations conducted around the Klang Valley recently.

NCID director Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said the ongoing operation during Ramadan also yielded results, when police uncovered an attempt by an international syndicate to establish a large-scale illegal laboratory in Selangor.

He said that the biggest success was recorded through Op Chrysogaster on March 2, which saw the arrest of two local men, aged 28 and 44, along with the seizure of more than 3.4 tonnes of drugs, suspected to be methamphetamine.

“The drugs, valued at RM170 million, were discovered following two raids in the areas of Taman Gembira and Taman Overseas Union Garden in the capital,” he said, at a press conference at Police Training Centre (Pulapol), here, today.

Hussein said that the drug supply is believed to have been brought in from the Golden Triangle, for distribution in the Klang Valley and the southern region of Peninsular Malaysia, using rented lorries, in addition to being smuggled to overseas markets such as Indonesia and the Philippines.

According to Hussein, the market price of the drugs in Malaysia is about RM50,000 per kilogramme (kg), but the value could rise to as much as RM200,000 per kg if successfully smuggled into overseas markets.

“Both suspects have been remanded for 14 days, until March 16, to assist investigations. The syndicate is believed to have been active since December 2025, while the drugs, worth RM170 million, which were seized, are estimated to be capable of affecting up to 17 million users if they had entered the market,” he said.

Hussein said that, in another operation also conducted on March 2, police raided a warehouse at Subang Industrial Park and discovered hundreds of drums and bottles containing liquid and powdered chemical substances, as well as five drug-processing machines.

“We do not rule out the possibility that they are members of the same syndicate we took action against during the aggressive operations carried out by the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), last month in Perak and Penang, which caused them to flee and abandon the warehouse.

“The premises had been rented since 2024 using a false identity, at a monthly rate of RM6,500. If left unchecked, the laboratory had a high capacity to process methamphetamine, synthetic cannabis and etomidate on a large scale,” he said.

In the third raid on March 5, Hussein said police successfully foiled an attempt by a syndicate to distribute 124.7 kg of ganja buds, worth RM10.2 million, using a lorry to collect supplies from the northern part of Peninsular Malaysia, during a raid in Taman Sri Rampai.

“Three men, aged between 27 and 38, were arrested around Kuala Lumpur, with one acting as the coordinator while the other two served as runners. Urine screening tests found all the suspects negative for drugs. All of them have been remanded for seven days until March 11.

One of the suspects has one previous drug-related record, while another has three criminal records. Action was also taken under the Dangerous Drugs (Forfeiture of Property) Act 1988, with the seizure of a Ford Ranger valued at RM85,000.

All three cases are being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.

-- BERNAMA