Armed and dangerous: Comm Khaw (third from left) and other senior police officials showing the firearms seized from the crime syndicate at Selangor police contingent headquarters.
SHAH ALAM: Police uncovered a drug-processing laboratory, believed to be run by an international syndicate, following the arrest of 12 suspects and the seizure of drugs and firearms worth RM120mil.
Bukit Aman Narcotics Crime Investigation Department director Comm Datuk Seri Khaw Kok Chin said those arrested in three raids across Selangor and Kuala Lumpur on Jan 16 comprised a Malaysian man, 10 foreign men and a foreign woman, aged between 20 and 50.
The first raid on a warehouse in Puncak Alam, Selangor, at about 2.20pm resulted in the arrest of eight foreign male suspects who were processing drugs believed to be intended for both domestic and international markets, Bernama reported.
“An inspection of the premises uncovered drugs such as erimin 5 weighing an estimated 306kg, and Ecstasy weighing 183.7kg, along with drug-processing equipment and various chemicals believed to have been sourced from a neighbouring country,” Comm Khaw told a press conference at the Selangor police contingent headquarters here yesterday.
The second raid, conducted at around 2.30pm at a house in Puncak Alam, led to the arrest of two foreign men believed to be coordinators of the syndicate, along with a Thai woman.
Further inspections found five transparent packages containing powder and crystal lumps suspected to be ketamine, weighing an estimated 533g, as well as 70 tablet packages suspected to be erimin 5, weighing approximately 203g.
Comm Khaw said interrogation of three suspects from the second raid led to the discovery of a house in Kuala Lumpur used as a storage facility for the drugs.
“An inspection of the premises found about 310kg of Ecstasy, 21.1kg of cocaine, 5.2kg of syabu, 3.6kg of heroin, 1.8kg of heroin base, 0.5kg of ganja, and 0.4kg of ketamine.
“Additionally, we found 15 pistols, a submachine gun, and 900 bullets.”
In the third raid, conducted at about 2.40pm, police arrested a Malaysian man believed to be the syndicate’s coordinator at a house in Seri Kembangan, Selangor.
Checks on all foreign suspects revealed that six male suspects had prior cases involving drugs, murder, violent crime and fraud.
Three of the suspects tested positive for ketamine.
“We believe this syndicate has been active since the end of last year. The police also seized other items, including several vehicles, a forklift, and cash worth about RM1mil,” said Comm Khaw.
All suspects have been remanded for seven days until Jan 23, and the case is being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971 and Section 8(a) of the Arms Act 1960.
