Penang Police Bust Drug Syndicate, Seize RM100,500 Worth Of Drugs

BUKIT MERTAJAM, April 30 (Bernama) -- Penang police have crippled a drug trafficking syndicate with the arrest of three local men and an Indonesian woman, and the seizure of various types of drugs worth RM100,500 in two separate raids in Bukit Mertajam and Seberang Jaya yesterday.

State police chief Datuk Hamzah Ahmad said the four suspects, aged between 26 and 47, were arrested in an operation conducted from 7 am to 10 am by the Narcotics Criminal Investigation Division of the Seberang Perai Tengah district police headquarters.

“They were detained by the roadside and at a shop in Seberang Jaya, and the arrest led police to a house used by the syndicate as a drug storage facility.

“During the raid at the house, we found a black plastic package containing 5,048g of heroin worth RM48,000; eight packets of heroin weighing 2,956g in a red bag (worth RM28,800); 706g of syabu (worth RM18,000); 156g of ganja (worth RM4,680); and 3,184g of caffeine powder (worth RM1,020), with a total value of RM100,500,” he said in a statement today.

He said the syndicate had been active since the end of last year, sourcing drugs from trafficking networks and repackaging them into smaller quantities for distribution across Penang.

Following their arrest, Hamzah said police also seized a Perodua Alza, two Yamaha LC and Y15ZR motorcycles, and jewellery, all valued at RM75,990.

He added that two male suspects tested positive for drugs, while three of them had prior criminal and drug-related records.

“All the suspects have been remanded for seven days until May 6, and the case is being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952,” he said.

In a separate case, Hamzah said a head supervisor of a factory in Bayan Lepas lost RM558,000 after falling victim to an online investment scam involving the purchase of shares in a company from China via Facebook.

He said the police received a report yesterday from a 57-year-old man, who said that he had come across an investment advertisement last February and subsequently contacted the suspect via WhatsApp.

Hamzah said the suspect had promised the victim returns of five to 15 per cent on his investment within three days.

“The victim made 29 transactions to ten different accounts. The man realised he had been deceived when the suspect promised to pay RM1.2 million in profits into his account between April 24 and 25, but the payment was never received,” he said.

Hamzah said the case was being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code.

-- BERNAMA