JOHOR BARU: Police crippled a drug processing syndicate before it could begin full-scale production, seizing narcotics worth RM18.19mil in two raids here.
Three suspects aged 17 to 22 were arrested in the raids at Taman Megah Ria in Masai and near Jalan Permas on Oct 1.
Bukit Aman Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department (NCID) director Comm Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said the raids uncovered more than 106kg of MDMA powder, along with other drugs, precursor chemicals and equipment believed to be used in processing narcotics.
"The seized drugs and equipment are estimated to be worth RM18.19mil and could potentially harm about 426,000 drug users," he told a press conference at Johor police headquarters here on Friday (Oct 16).
The first raid at Taman Megah Ria led to the arrest of two men and a teenage girl.
"We seized 101.64kg of MDMA powder, 14 litres of MDMA liquid, 122.14g of ecstasy powder and 30 Erimin 5 pills there.
"A second raid on a house near Jalan Permas led to the seizure of 5.2kg of MDMA powder, 23 litres of liquid cannabis and drug processing equipment," he said.
The operation was conducted following intelligence gathered by the Seri Alam district NCID, he added.
"Based on our investigations, the syndicate had only recently started operating.
"The lab was still being set up when we raided it," he said, adding that the syndicate is believed to have started operations in June.
He said the syndicate used shoplots to store precursor chemicals and equipment, while a terrace house was used as the processing site.
Comm Hussein added that the syndicate had not managed to bring in chemists from overseas to process the drugs, leading investigators to believe that production and distribution had yet to begin.
"Based on our preliminary investigations, we believe the syndicate has international links," he said.
Two suspects tested positive for methamphetamine, while none had criminal records, he added.
All three suspects were charged at the Magistrate's Court here under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 on Monday (Oct 12).
