RM7.2 million cocaine vape cartridge bust in Ampang Jaya arrest
Bukit Aman Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department (NCID) acting director Datuk Mat Zani @ Mohd Salahuddin Che Ali said the suspects comprise a 57-year-old local man and three Singaporean men, aged between 25 and 46 years old.
He said that during the raid at around 11.45 am, the NCID team intercepted a Toyota Vellfire in the parking area of a hotel in the capital and found 10 boxes, containing 4,958 vape cartridges suspected to contain cocaine liquid, with an estimated weight of 9,420 millilitres (ml).
'The drugs in question are estimated to be worth RM7.2 million, and the investigation found that the syndicate used Malaysia as a transit point before shipping them via air courier services to international markets,' he said at a press conference in Bukit Aman today.
According to Mat Zani, initial investigations found that the syndicate involved, believed to have been active since March, rented an Airbnb condominium unit in Ampang for RM300 per day as a location for processing and packaging cocaine cartridges for the overseas market.
'Each vape cartridge containing 1.9 ml of cocaine liquid can be sold at a price of around RM1,500 per unit in the international market, considering that this type of cocaine is difficult to obtain in the Southeast Asian region due to its high price and is usually used by the elite,' he said.
He said further investigations found that one of the suspects tested positive for ketamine, while the other two had criminal records related to drug cases.
'In addition to the drug seizures, the police also confiscated various items worth RM2,975 for asset forfeiture actions, bringing the total value of the confiscated and seized items in this operation to RM7.29 million.
'This is the first case of cocaine seizure in the form of vape cartridges detected in Malaysia, and we believe this modus operandi is used to deceive the authorities and facilitate delivery abroad,' he added.
All suspects have been remanded for seven days from June 20 to June 26 to assist in the investigation under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which provides for a mandatory death sentence if convicted.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
5 hours ago
- The Star
Act to keep our children safe
IT was April 5, 1986. Young Jeanne Clery was asleep in her campus dormitory at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The door was closed but not locked; her roommate had yet to come back. Cancel anytime. Ad-free. Full access to Web and App. RM 13.90/month RM 9.73 /month Billed as RM 9.73 for the 1st month, RM 13.90 thereafter. RM 12.39/month RM 8.63 /month Billed as RM 103.60 for the 1st year, RM 148 thereafter.
The Star
16 hours ago
- The Star
Singaporean who defaulted on NS obligations used fake Malaysian passports at checkpoints over 800 times
Low Eng Kheng was sentenced to eight months and 18 weeks' jail after pleading guilty to five charges under the Immigration Act. -- ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): A Singaporean who was trying to avoid his national service (NS) obligations in the 1990s used fake Malaysian passports to enter and exit the Republic to conceal his identity from the authorities. Over a span of five years from 2006 to 2011, Low Eng Kheng, 60, used the fake passports 876 times at various checkpoints in Singapore. On July 11, he was sentenced to eight months and 18 weeks' jail after pleading guilty to five charges under the Immigration Act. The court heard that in the early 1990s, Low left Singapore for Malaysia as he did not wish to complete his obligations as an operationally ready national serviceman (NSman). He remained in Malaysia and did not return to Singapore, and his Singapore passport expired in June 2000. In 2006, he wanted to travel to Singapore to visit his family as his mother's health was deteriorating, but was afraid of using his actual Singapore identity as he believed that he was wanted by the authorities for not fulfilling his NSman obligations. Thus, he paid an unknown individual RM45,000 for a Malaysian passport with his photograph but the particulars of one 'Chong Poh Yin' and a birthdate that was not his. In the subsequent years between 2008 and 2010, Low obtained three more Malaysian passports with his photograph but which bore the particulars of 'Chong'. He paid the same unknown individual RM10,000 for each passport. Low used the first passport to enter Singapore on Aug 7, 2006. After that, he frequently travelled between Singapore and Malaysia using the four passports. He last arrived in Singapore using one of the passports on May 2, 2011. Between March and May 2011, he also gave false statements on his disembarkation forms to immigration officers on 59 occasions. These included his name, his date of birth and country of birth. In September 2023, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) began investigations into Low as he had been found to be someone with multiple identities. It was not mentioned in court documents how his crimes came to light. Low was arrested in August 2024. Deputy Superintendent Ganeshvaran, senior prosecution officer from ICA, highlighted to the court that it was a conscious decision on Low's part to run away from Singapore as he did not want to complete his NSman obligations, and to subsequently conceal his true identity to avoid the authorities. In mitigation, defence lawyer Thomas Tham said his client did not use the Malaysian passports to enter Singapore to commit offences. 'Instead, he came to Singapore as a driver to send people around to try to make a living for his wife and kids. The sheer number of times he used the passports was because of the nature of his job as a driver,' said Mr Tham. In a statement on July 11, an ICA spokesman said that since July 2020, multi-modal biometric clearance systems have been in place at the checkpoints to better detect and deny entry to those with multiple identities or impersonated identities. All automated and manual immigration lanes and manual counters at Singapore's land, sea and air checkpoints have been equipped with iris and facial scanners, said ICA, adding that the two biometric identifiers, in addition to fingerprints as a secondary biometric identifier, provide a highly accurate way of authenticating travellers' identities. 'ICA will not hesitate to take firm action against travellers who attempt to enter Singapore using an impersonated identity or an identity different from their previous trips to Singapore,' said the spokesman. - The Straits Times/Asia News Network
The Star
19 hours ago
- The Star
Appeals Court reinstates Vietnamese man's four-year jail term for possessing leopard parts
PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal has reinstated a four-year jail sentence originally imposed by the Sessions Court on a Vietnamese man for keeping 54 parts of a protected leopard species without a special permit. A three-member bench comprising Justices Datuk Hashim Hamzah, Datuk Mohamed Zaini Mazlan and Datuk Noorin Badaruddin allowed the prosecution's appeal to overturn the Temerloh High Court's decision, which had earlier reduced Nguyen Van Tien's jail term to two years. Justice Hashim, who delivered the court's unanimous decision, said that the judiciary takes wildlife-related offences seriously. "Therefore, the sentence imposed by the High Court is set aside, and the four-year jail sentence imposed by the Sessions Court is reinstated, effective from the date of arrest," he said. The fine of RM300,000 in default of 12 months' imprisonment imposed by the High Court remains unchanged. The prosecution had appealed against the High Court's decision to reduce the prison sentence but did not challenge the fine. On Feb 24, 2024, Nguyen, 34, pleaded guilty at the Sessions Court to the charge of keeping parts of a leopard (Panthera pardus), a protected species, without a special permit in the National Park, Pahang at about 12.30pm on Dec 12, 2023. He was charged under Section 68(1)(b) of the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 and sentenced under Section 68(2)(c) of the same law. Nguyen was sentenced to four years' imprisonment and fined RM300,000, in default of four years' jail, effective from the date of his arrest on Dec 12, 2023. In October last year, the High Court reduced the sentence to two years while maintaining the fine in default of 12 months' jail. During proceedings, Deputy Public Prosecutor Aznee Salmie Ahmad argued that the reduced prison sentence would send the wrong message, portraying Malaysia as a lenient jurisdiction for foreign offenders involved in trans-boundary wildlife crimes. She said that Nguyen's actions had not only harmed the environment but also impacted the sovereignty of Malaysian law, thus warranting a stern custodial sentence. Representing himself through an interpreter, Nguyen told the court that he had come to Malaysia in search of work and claimed that he received the leopard meat from other Vietnamese acquaintances to take home, adding that he was unaware of Malaysian laws. He apologised and pleaded for the two-year sentence to be maintained, saying he wished to return to Vietnam. Nguyen also told the court that he is responsible for supporting his elderly parents and young children in Vietnam, noting that his wife is unemployed. – Bernama
