GEORGE TOWN: Police have crippled a Malaysia-Thailand drug syndicate with the seizure of 86.2kg of methamphetamine worth RM4.31mil in Penang and Selangor.
The bust resulted from intelligence sharing between Malaysian and Thai police after Thai authorities seized 166kg of suspected methamphetamine from a Malaysian man in Hua Hin on Aug 8.
Penang police chief Datuk Dennis Lim Kwang Keng said the information led to Ops Zoraptera, resulting in the arrest of four suspects – three Malaysian men and a Thai woman aged between 19 and 25.
The Thai woman is the wife of one of the Malaysian suspects, and both were charged in the case.
Lim said Malaysian police arrested the four suspects in Selangor on Aug 13.
The following day, police seized a luxury sedan near Hotel Aroma in Butterworth and found 83 packets disguised as tea bags containing 86.2kg of methamphetamine concealed in the vehicle.
Lim said the syndicate also modified vehicles with hidden compartments to transport the drugs.
“Each person involved in transporting a shipment was paid RM6,000 per trip,” he said at a press conference here on Tuesday (Sept 1).
Police also seized five vehicles worth RM420,700, bringing the total value of the Malaysian seizure to RM4.73mil.
Lim said the syndicate was believed to have been active since June and the drugs were intended for the local market and possibly overseas.
The first three suspects were charged at the Butterworth Magistrate's Court last Thursday under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 (Act 234), while the fourth was made a prosecution witness.
One suspect tested positive for ketamine in a preliminary urine test, while none had previous criminal records.
The 86.2kg seizure in Malaysia, combined with the separate 166kg seizure in Thailand, totalled 252.2kg of methamphetamine busted through the operations.
The case is being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries the death penalty or life imprisonment and whipping of not less than 12 strokes upon conviction.
Present during the press conference were police officers from the Bukit Aman Narcotics Crime Investigation Department (JSJN) and the Police Narcotics Suppression Bureau (PNSB) of Thailand.
