A suspected drug distribution syndicate that allegedly used hotels and homestays to store supplies before supplying the local market has been uncovered following the arrest of a 36-year-old man in Pontian.
The operation, carried out by the Pontian District Police Headquarters Narcotics Criminal Investigation Division on Tuesday, involved three raids beginning at about 9.30pm.
Pontian district police chief Superintendent Hadzrat Hussien Mion Hussain said officers seized 8.21kg of suspected drugs with an estimated street value of RM921,022 during the operation.
The first raid at Taman Megah led to the arrest of the local man. Police found 14 packets containing 410.02 grammes of suspected ecstasy powder, a packet containing 19.17 grammes of methamphetamine, 30 Erimin 5 pills weighing 9.22 grammes and three ecstasy pills weighing 1.93 grammes.
A follow-up raid at a hotel resulted in the seizure of six packets containing 231.71 grammes of suspected ecstasy powder, 16.10 grammes of methamphetamine and 8.56 grammes of ketamine.
Police then raided a homestay in Pekan Nanas, where they discovered 50 packets containing 1.50kg of suspected ecstasy powder, 50.61 grammes of ketamine, 20 Erimin 5 pills weighing 6.12 grammes and three plastic containers containing 5.96kg of suspected MDMA powder.
Hadzrat said preliminary investigations indicated that the suspect allegedly acted as a runner responsible for finding customers for the syndicate, while efforts were continuing to identify and track down other members.
“The syndicate is believed to have been active since early April and used rented homestays and hotels as storage locations before distributing the drugs to the local market,” he said in a statement.
The seized drugs were estimated to have been capable of affecting around 27,455 users, highlighting the scale of the alleged distribution operation.
An initial urine screening test found the suspect positive for methamphetamine. Police checks also revealed that he had previous drug-related offences.
The suspect has been remanded for seven days from Aug 12 to Aug 18 to assist investigations under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
Police also seized a Proton Wira and RM500 in cash during the operation, bringing the total value of the drugs and other items seized to RM926,522.
The case remains under investigation as police work to trace other individuals allegedly involved in the syndicate and disrupt its supply network.
