Johor police smash five drug syndicates, seize nearly 70kg drugs worth RM9mil
State police chief Datuk M. Kumar said five syndicates were crippled. Three of the syndicates had used vehicles to store drugs, while two others used apartments as storage sites.
In the first operation on April 20 at 1.30pm along Jalan Abdullah Tahir, a 22-year-old local man was arrested and 9.35kg of ecstasy and 62g of ketamine were seized. The drugs, worth RM1.57 million, were found in an apartment the suspect had rented since early March.
The next operation took place on April 21 around 11.30pm at a jetty in Batu Pahat. A 36-year-old local man was arrested with 20.71kg of syabu and 13.99g of Erimin 5 pills, valued at RM3.34 million.
Kumar said the second syndicate used a Ford Ranger to store and distribute drugs across the border. The vehicle was operated under someone else's name.
On April 23, police busted another syndicate in Kota Tinggi, arresting a 36-year-old local man and seizing 20kg of ecstasy worth RM1.72 million. The suspect had used a rented Honda Civic to store and process the drugs to evade detection.
In another raid in Kluang on the same day, authorities seized 9.90kg of ecstasy, 187.30g of ketamine, and a significant quantity of Erimin 5 pills, worth RM1.69 million. A 33-year-old local man was arrested for allegedly using a Proton Iswara to store and distribute the drugs.
Later that day, a 47-year-old Singaporean man was arrested at an apartment in Danga Bay at 10pm. He is suspected of using a fake national identity card and had been renting the unit for several months.
"In total, we seized 10kg of ecstasy powder, 31.30g of ketamine, 44g of marijuana, nine grams of heroin, six grams of ecstasy pills, and 1.20g of yaba pills, valued at RM1.68 million," Kumar said.
All five suspects tested positive for methamphetamine and have been remanded until tomorrow for further investigation under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
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