KUALA LUMPUR: Police have seized RM17.78mil worth of drugs in a raid on a terrace house in Taman Sri Hartamas here.
The syndicate involved is believed to have used the house to store the drugs before marketing them locally and overseas.
A 30-year-old local man, suspected of being the syndicate's coordinator and transporter, was also detained in the July 29 raid, police said.
Bukit Aman Narcotics Crime Investigation Department (NCID) director Comm Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said they seized 234kg of syabu and 205.7kg of ketamine, disguised in packages labelled as containing tea.
"The drugs worth RM17.78mil could have been supplied to 1.8 million drug abusers," he told reporters at city police headquarters on Monday (Aug 4).
The suspect was reportedly paid RM7,000 per trip to transport the drugs, he said.
"We believe he made 10 trips before being caught.
"The house was also rented by the syndicate for RM6,000 a month for a year," he added.
Comm Hussein said initial investigations found that the syndicate has been active since June.
"We believe the drugs seized had just arrived from a neighbouring country... by land," he said.
He said the NCID planned and executed the operation within a month of receiving credible intelligence.
"Given the amount of the drugs, the syndicate is huge with a good network overseas," he added.
Comm Hussein said the NCID is tracking down remnants of the syndicate, including its head.
"We also seized RM93,350 worth of the syndicate's assets, including two cars, three luxury watches and a mobile phone," he added.
In another case, 42.3kg of ganja buds worth RM1.48mil have been seized, also on July 29, from an apartment in Kuchai Entrepreneurs Park.
"We detained a local man along with a man and two women from Vietnam.
"The local man was the syndicate's transporter and coordinator, while the foreign suspects arrived in Malaysia on July 8.
"The Vietnamese women also worked as guest relations officers (GRO)," Comm Hussein said.
The drugs seized were meant to be distributed in the Klang Valley and the syndicate is believed to have been active since last month, he added.
Comm Hussein said the NCID would continue to combat the drug menace, but needs the cooperation of the public.
"We urge anyone with information to contact the NCID hotline at 012-2087222," he said.
