JOHOR BARU: Police have crippled a drug trafficking syndicate with the arrest of eight suspects, including a teenage boy, and the seizure of 60.78kg of methamphetamine worth an estimated RM3.04mil in a series of raids here.
Johor police chief Comm Datuk Ab Rahaman Arsad said based on information, an operation was carried out at about 9pm on July 18, resulted in the arrest of seven local men and one foreign national aged between 16 and 78.
"We raided a parking area in front of a hotel within the city centre here which led to the arrest of five suspects, including an Indonesian national.
"A search of a car in the parking area uncovered 50 plastic packets containing suspected methamphetamine weighing 60.78kg," he told a press conference at state police headquarters here on Wednesday (July 22).
Comm Ab Rahaman said follow-up raids at the hotel led to the arrest of three more local men, although no further incriminating items were found during the search.
Investigations revealed that the first two suspects, including the teenager, acted as transporters while the third suspect was a runner.
"The fourth, fifth and sixth suspects were believed to be trusted associates of the seventh suspect, who was identified as the syndicate leader.
"The eighth suspect is believed to be the mastermind responsible for planning the group’s overall operations," he said,adding that the syndicate is believed to have been active since early May.
Comm Ab Rahaman said the syndicate’s modus operandi was using vehicles as temporary storage facilities before distributing the drugs on the local market.
He added that police seized four cars from the syndicate as well as jewellery worth more than RM100,000.
"One of the cars belongs to the teenage suspect’s grandfather.
"Even though the boy does not have a driving licence, his grandfather allowed him to use the car.
"Checks found that the boy quit school in January last year.
"Three of the suspects tested positive for drugs, and four of them have criminal records," he added.
Comm Ab Rahaman said the case is being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 and all the suspects have been remanded until Saturday (July 25) to assist with investigations.
