JOHOR BARU: Police have arrested 13 people, including a husband and wife, for distributing drugs worth almost RM365,000 during a series of raids in Kulai and Iskandar Puteri.
Johor police chief Comm Datuk Kamarul Zaman Mamat said the raid was conducted by the Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department from 6pm on Jan 7 until Tuesday (Jan 10) at 2am.
"The first raid was conducted at a terrace house in Senai, Kulai, where we arrested a husband and wife, aged 33 and 29.
"The team also found 53 slabs of drugs believed to be compressed ganja, 1,643 ecstasy pills, and 20 packets of heroin weighing 9.29kg while inspecting the house," he said during a press conference at the Johor police headquarters here.
A follow-up arrest was then made, where two men were arrested. In the third raid, three men and three women were nabbed.
"On the fourth raid, another two men and a woman, all aged between 33 and 34, were arrested at a terrace house in Kangkar Pulai, Iskandar Puteri.
"The team found another 23 slabs of compressed ganja and seven packets of ketamine," he said, adding that all of the drugs confiscated were worth RM362,022.
The suspects were all aged between 24 and 55. The police had also confiscated seven vehicles, three motorcycles, and jewellery, all worth a combined RM319,950, he added.
According to Comm Kamarul Zaman, the group has been active since October last year, and their method of operation is to use the house as a store and vehicles as a mode of distribution.
"We also believed that these drugs might have been distributed to our neighbouring countries, but it is still under investigation.
"So there might be some series of arrests in the future," he said, adding that the drugs were believed to have come from the northern part of the peninsula.
A background check revealed that six of the suspects had prior records involving drugs and crime, and the urine test revealed that all of the suspects were negative for drugs.
The case was being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act for drug trafficking, which carries a death sentence or life imprisonment with a minimum of 15 strokes of the rotan.
