Online drug-pushing racket busted in Johor
JOHOR BARU: Place your order using WeChat, pay for it online and pick up the stash beside drains or dumpsters.
This was the modus operandi of a syndicate that was busted here for selling illicit drugs after operating under the radar since January, said Johor police chief Comm Datuk M. Kumar.
He said five syndicate members, including the group's mastermind, were arrested in three separate raids in the city on June 19.
'The three Malaysian men and two Vietnamese women, aged 29 to 46, operated from two gated and guarded apartments, as well as a rented room in a terrace house.
'They used the rented units to process and repackage the drugs into sachets, which were sold via WeChat for RM100 to RM200 each, depending on the variety,' he said at a press conference at the state police headquarters here yesterday.
He said the syndicate promoted the drugs through the messaging platform and after payment was made, the sachets were dropped off at inconspicuous locations.
'The buyer would then be notified to pick up the order. All transactions were done online, so the buyer and seller never met face to face,' he added.
Police seized 16,865g of ecstasy powder, 104g of ketamine, 1,950 Erimin-5 pills, 1,250 ecstasy pills and 35 yaba pills with a street value of over RM2.9mil along with the arrests.
Police also confiscated five cars, drug-processing equipment, RM9,100 in cash and some jewellery during the raids.
The suspects have been remanded until today for investigation under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act, which carries a death sentence or life imprisonment and whipping, if convicted.
The two Vietnamese women are also being investigated under the Immigration Act for not possessing valid travel documents.
Comm Kumar said police have arrested 12,835 people in Johor for various drug-related offences as of June 30.
During the same period, police seized a total of 1.08 tonnes and 5,816.5 litres of drugs valued at RM106.9mil collectively.
He added that public cooperation had contributed significantly to the arrests and urged the people to continue providing information to help combat illegal activities.
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