M'sian Police Cripple Int'l Drug Syndicate, Seized Syabu Worth US$4.65 MLN

GEORGE TOWN (Penang, Malaysia), Dec 12 (Bernama) -- Police believed they have crippled an international drug syndicate with the arrest of five foreign men and seized 72.1kg of syabu worth US$4.65 million million in a raid on a warehouse in Batu Maung here on Dec 9. Bukit Aman Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department director Noor Rashid Ibrahim said three of the men were from Algeria, while two others were from Iran, aged between 27 and 37. "The five men were nabbed in the warehouse which had been used as storage area for the drugs," he told a press conference here Monday. Initially, he said only 242 gunny sacks of powdered clay were found in the warehouse which were rented by the syndicate from a local businessman. "However, following a search, the police found 11 packages of syabu, weighing 72.1kg, hidden in some of the gunny sacks," he said. Noor Rashid said the drugs, believed to have originated in Abas, Iran, were shipped into the state after the syndicate moved their operation from Port Klang, Selangor state to Penang Port here, in a bid to avoid being detected by the authority. "Although the syndicate tried to use a new tactic to fool the authority, we still managed to foil their drug trafficking activities," he said. Noor Rashid said during the raid, police also seized various items worth RM152,000 (about US$49,000) from the suspects. "They have been remanded for a week to facilitate investigations under Section 39(B) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952. "Further investigations are being done to track down the rest of the syndicate members," he said, adding that the success of the raid was also due to the cooperation from various international anti-drug agencies. -- BERNAMA