Game over for Pokemon-themed drug distributors

GEORGE TOWN: Ecstasy pills resembling Pokeball were among the different types of drugs found during several police raids here.

State Narcotics Department chief Supt Maidu Abu Bakar said this was the first time that the police came across ecstasy pills in that form.

A red-and-white Pokeball are one of the essential items used by gamers in the mobile app “Pokemon-Go” to catch and store Pokemon, the game’s super-powered creatures.

Supt Maidu said the “Pokemon” drug was among the RM410,000 worth of drugs seized during the Nov 10 raids.

Five people, believed to be members of a drug syndicate, were arrested.

Supt Maidu said earlier, a 26-year-old man was detained near the car park of a fast food restaurant in Bandar Baru Air Itam at around 2.30pm for having packets of syabu and ketamine.

“We then found four packets of syabu, two packets of ketamine and 170 Ecstasy pills in his car.

We also found RM20,000, which is believed to be earnings from the sales of the drugs,” he told reporters at the Penang police headquarters yesterday.

Don’t choose these: Police officers arranging drugs seized during several raids ?before a press conference at Penang police headquarters?.

The man led police to his house in Sungai Nibong, where they found eight packets of syabu weighing 1,725gm, 1,700 Eramin 5 pills, 485 Ecstasy pills and two packets of keta­mine weighing 1,475gm.

At 9.30pm, officers arrested a 23-year-old man near a luxury condominium in Jelutong for having two packets of drugs.

He led officers to his condominium unit, where 8,900 Eramin 5 pills and 3,672 Ecstasy pills were found in the living room. Three of his housemates were arrested.

“A motorcycle and two cars were seized,” Supt Maidu said.

“We believe that they were distributing drugs at entertainment outlets in Penang for the past six months,” he said.

The five suspects, who have no past criminal records, have been remanded until Thursday.

In another case, police seized 854gm of processed heroin from the house of a 37-year-old man who was reported “missing”.

A team, led by Insp Amir Firdaus Ismail, went to the man’s house in Persiaran Midlands on Sunday to follow up on a missing person’s report.

They then decided to check the house and found the heroin and RM13,350 in cash.

George Town OCPD Asst Comm Mior Faridalathrash Wahid said the suspect was living in Australia for several years before moving back to Penang less than a year ago.