KUALA LUMPUR: Bukit Aman believes the smuggling of fentanyl and other synthetic drugs into the country is connected to an international network capable of distributing the substances locally and exporting them abroad.
Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Mohd Khalid Ismail said investigations revealed that the drug syndicates operated across borders, with the Narcotics Crime Investigation Department (NCID) continuing to mount operations to dismantle them.
“These drugs are tied to an international network. There may be groups working either to distribute them locally or to export them overseas.
"The NCID will continue taking action,” he told a press conference at Bukit Aman on Wednesday (Sept 24).
The IGP noted that police had earlier crippled several clandestine drug labs through special operations to disrupt the syndicates.
He was responding to questions on several fentanyl seizures in Selangor, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan last month, which raised concerns about the rising trend of synthetic opioid smuggling.
On Tuesday (Sept 23), NCID director Comm Datuk Hussein Omar Khan confirmed that police had crippled fentanyl smuggling and distribution syndicates in three states through separate operations, with seizures exceeding one tonne.
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In Ops Black Ash on Aug 19 in Negri Sembilan and Melaka, police arrested three suspects and seized 961.8kg of liquid fentanyl worth RM30.7mil.
CommHussein had said the consignment had entered Malaysia via Port Klang through falsified cargo declarations.
Two of the syndicates, he added, were linked to an international network originating from an East Asian country.
“Once in Malaysia, the consignment was channelled to two different local syndicates, whether directly linked or otherwise. This is still under investigation,” he said.
The seized fentanyl was believed to be intended for mixing into vape liquids and pills for the domestic market as well as export to neighbouring countries.
Separately, on Sept 17, police crippled a drug syndicate after raiding two illegal ecstasy-processing labs in Kepong. The operation, carried out between 8am and 11am on Sept 10, resulted in seizures worth more than RM590mil and the arrest of four local men aged between 34 and 51.
The NCID’s Bukit Aman team conducted the operation following intelligence gathering and close surveillance in the Klang Valley.
