GEORGE TOWN: Four men were caught with 112.1kg of ganja worth about RM3.72mil on the mainland.
Penang deputy police chief Datuk Mohd Alwi Zainal Abidin said the men, three locals and one Vietnamese, were arrested between 10am on Tuesday (July 22) and 3am on Wednesday (July 23) on the mainland.
"The men, aged between 31 and 39 years old, were arrested in Seberang Perai for being involved in ganja distribution activities.
"During a raid at a hotel in Bukit Mertajam, we first arrested two of the local men in a hotel room and another local man believed to be the transporter in the hotel lobby.
"During this raid, we found a canvas bag filled with nine transparent bags containing dried leaves believed to be ganja weighing around 9.23kg.
"We then found five more transparent packages with the same substance weighing 4.23kg," he said during a press conference held at the Penang contingent police headquarters in George Town, Penang on Thursday (July 24).
He said they then obtained information from the suspects that led to the arrest of a Vietnam national in the Seberang Jaya area.
"He then led us to a house which has been used as a storage place for drugs.
"Upon inspecting the premises, we seized two luggage bags containing 26 transparent packages with the same substance (ganja) weighing around 27kg.
"We then found another two black luggage bags containing 30 more transparent packages of the same substance weighing 31.2kg.
"There were another 55 transparent packages of ganja in two colourful zipped up bags weighing 40.4kg," he said.
He said based on their investigations, the suspects have been actively involved in the syndicate from March this year.
"The drugs we found could be used by up to 230,000 addicts. We believe it is for local market consumption," he said.
He said three of the suspects tested positive for drugs and had prior drug-related offences.
"All four men have been remanded for seven days from Wednesday (July 23) to July 29 for further investigations.
"During the raid, we also seized three vehicles and cash amounting to RM199,300," he said.
He said the case is being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
