SEREMBAN: Police arrested two childhood friends and seized about 30kg of drugs, believed to be methamphetamine, in an operation at KM236.9 of the North-South Expressway near Pedas.
Negri Sembilan police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Alzafny Ahmad said the two suspects, in their 30s and from the same village in Batu Pahat, Johor, were arrested around 3pm on Feb 12 while they were in a car heading south.
"Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects picked up the drugs worth some RM1.5mil from Puchong and it was meant for the southern market.
"The drugs, which were packed in 1kg packages and declared as Chinese tea, were enough to be used by some 30,000 drug users," he told reporters at the state police contingent headquarters on Thursday (Feb 19).
The drugs were found in the boot of the rented car.
He said one of the suspects was a mechanic and the other, a fisherman.
They were suspected of being members of a syndicate that has been active since last year.
DCP Alzafny said checks found that one suspect had three offences on his criminal record, two of them drug-related; while the other five priors, four of them narcotics-linked.
"Both suspects tested positive for methamphetamines," he said, adding that the suspects had been remanded until Monday (Feb 23).
He said police were also looking into the source of the drugs and trying to trace other members of the group.
The case is being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries the death penalty, or between 30 and 40 years' jail and caning, upon conviction.
He urged the public to channel information on drug crimes to the state Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department hotline at 012 208 7222.
