Penang police seized drugs worth RM3.44 million and arrested five people, including a couple, in three separate operations across the state between 21 and 27 September, according to The Sun. The raids were run by the state Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department (NCID).
Announcing the results at the Penang Police Contingent Headquarters, state police chief Datuk Dennis Lim Kwang Keng listed 8.83 kg of heroin, 15.06 kg of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) powder, five litres of liquid MDMA, 182 ecstasy pills and 70 g of ketamine.
The first operation began at 3.30 pm on 21 September, when officers stopped a 47-year-old local man by the roadside at Jalan Masjid Negeri. He was seen carrying a package to a vehicle parked at a premises suspected of storing drugs and drug-processing equipment, The Star reported. A search turned up 8.83 kg of heroin, 5.35 kg of caffeine powder and heroin-processing equipment in the car, with the haul valued at RM443,518. Lim said the suspect is believed to have taken the supply from a syndicate and repackaged it for sale.
The following day at about 8.50 pm, two raids around Jalan Tun Dr Awang and Sungai Nibong Kecil produced three arrests: two local men and a foreign woman, all aged between 27 and 42. Police seized 3.26 kg of MDMA powder and five litres of liquid MDMA worth an estimated RM1.2 million. Investigations found the couple in the group worked at entertainment centres and took their MDMA supply from a drug distribution syndicate.
The third operation, at about 11.30 pm on 27 September, was led by officers from the Machang Bubuk Police Station. They arrested a 45-year-old local man at Jalan Seladang, Bukit Mertajam, and pulled 11.8 kg of MDMA powder, 182 ecstasy pills, heroin and 70 g of ketamine from his car, a seizure estimated at RM1.8 million.
All five suspects are remanded for seven days while the cases are investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, the trafficking provision. That section carries the death penalty or life imprisonment, and a whipping of not less than 15 strokes where death is not imposed.
Police believe the suspects have been active in drug trafficking in Penang since July, and that the three syndicates involved are not linked to one another. Urine screening found all five tested negative, while records showed the first suspect has a criminal and narcotics record. Officers also seized six vehicles worth RM58,000 under the Dangerous Drugs (Forfeiture of Property) Act 1988.
