JOHOR BARU: Police arrested four locals, including a 75-year-old woman, and seized drugs worth more than RM4mil in Pontian during a special operation.
Johor police chief Comm M. Kumar said the syndicate, believed to have been active since February, had been lying low in stilt houses to evade suspicion.
“The suspects – three local men aged between 40 and 59, and an elderly woman – were arrested at two water stilt homes located next to each other during the operation last Saturday.
“One of the male suspects and the woman are siblings. The brother and sister are also the owners of one of the houses, which is believed to be their family home.
“We believe that using these stilt houses as a base of operations is a new way for syndicates to avoid detection as they typically use houses in gated and guarded areas or apartments to conduct their activities,” he said in a press conference here yesterday.
Comm Kumar said apart from processing drugs, the syndicate also bought drugs from other suppliers and repacked them to be sold for the local market.
“We believe that there are other syndicate members who are still at large, and we are working with Bukit Aman to track them down,” he said.
He said the three male suspects also tested positive for methamphetamine and had criminal records.
“We seized some RM4.32mil worth of drugs, including ecstasy powder, Erimin 5 pills, ketamine and cannabis.
“Also seized were items used to process the drugs, cash worth RM21,000, S$13,000 (RM45,520) and six cars worth RM495,000,” he said, adding that the items and drugs seized amounted to RM4.88mil.
He said the case was being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act, which carries the death penalty or life imprisonment with whipping upon conviction.
He added that the suspects had been remanded for seven days.
Comm Kumar also said the Johor Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department had seized 2.03 tonnes of drugs worth RM17.80mil between Jan 1 and May 8 this year.
“During the same period, we arrested 9,184 people for various drug offences and seized syndicate properties worth RM6.07mil,” he said.
He urged the public to contact the police if they had information about illegal activities through the Criminal Investigation Department hotline at 012-208 7222.
