GEORGE TOWN: Police crippled a new drug syndicate with the arrest of eight individuals, and seized 247.7kg of ganja flowers worth RM8.67mil.
The drugs were not meant for the local market and are believed to be high-end ganja flowers worth RM35,000 per kg.
State police chief Comm Datuk Azizee Ismail said the syndicate, the biggest so far this year, was operating in Central Seberang Perai.
“The suspects were arrested at two locations in Central Seberang Perai by the Penang Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department between 10pm on November 4 and 6pm on Nov 5,” he said.
“We arrested six local men, one foreign man from the United Kingdom with Pakistani origins and a woman from Thailand,” he said.
Comm Azizee said that five local men and the foreign man were arrested in a raid on a homestay in Bukit Mertajam.
“In a subsequent raid in the same area we arrested a local man and the foreign woman by the roadside,” he said at a press conference at the state police headquarters on Monday (Nov 10).
Comm Azizee said officers first found eight luggage bags of various colours and makes containing 162 packages of ganja flowers weighing 144.8kg.
He said nine more luggage bags containing 119 packages of ganja flowers weighing 102.9kg were then found.
He said the drugs could be consumed by 500,000 people or 500,000 times.
“Based on our investigations, this syndicate has been active since mid-October 2025,” he said.
“The suspects, aged between 20 and 37, tested negative for drugs. Four of them have prior criminal and drug records,” added Comm Azizee.
He said that one of the local men is married to the Thai woman and four of them are believed to be related to each other.
“During the raid we seized two vehicles worth RM210,000. This brings the total value of drugs and vehicles seized to RM8.88mil,” he said.
He said all eight suspects have been remanded for seven days from November 5 to November 11 for further investigation.
He said the case is being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
