GEORGE TOWN: Several illegal entry points by the sea have made Penang a popular transit point for drug syndicates.
Citing an example, state police chief Comm Datuk Seri A. Thaiveegan said they seized syabu worth RM5.6mil that was kept inside a boat in Teluk Bahang in May.
“As Penang is surrounded by sea, there are key entry and exit points, making it tough for the authorities to monitor.
“Geographically, Penang is a strategic spot and can be easily accessible via air and land routes as well.
“This could be the reason why Penang is a popular transit,” he told The Star.
The police scored several firsts in crippling drug syndicates in Penang lately, with a record drug seizure of RM72.5mil, the largest since the narcotics department’s inception 22 years ago.
In just between Aug 19 and Sept 19, they netted RM170mil worth of drugs in six operations.
Comm Thaiveegan said most of the drugs came from the Golden Triangle, where most of the synthetic drugs for the global market were produced.
He attributed the success to the cooperation among Bukit Aman, the National Narcotics Control Commission of China, Police Narcotics Suppression Bureau Thailand and Office of the Narcotics Control Board Thailand.
“We have constant intelligence exchanges with our counterparts through our bilateral meetings. At times, it also boiled down to luck. My men are performing as well,” he said.
On Sept 19, Penang police crippled a drug syndicate in the north-east district on the island and in central Seberang Prai with the seizure of ganja worth RM236,000.
On Sept 11, police busted a drug laboratory with a multi-million-ringgit production of party pills and marijuana.
The seized drugs worth RM72.5mil was sufficient for the consumption of five million users, or about one-sixth the population of Malaysia.
On Sept 3, a team from Bukit Aman found 163.8kg of syabu, 18.6kg of ganja and 3.67kg of heroin base worth RM8.8mil in five separate raids that began at noon.
On National Day, police crippled a drug-trafficking syndicate, believed to be the biggest in the country, with the arrest of a man and seizure of syabu worth RM54mil here.
On Aug 21, drugs worth over RM26mil were found stuffed inside Chinese tea packets after police conducted six raids at several locations, seizing more than 506kg of drugs, including methamphetamine and Ecstasy pills.
On Aug 19, a series of police raids and arrests saw RM8.55mil worth of pil kuda, made from a type of methamphetamine drug, being seized in north and central Seberang Prai.
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