A drug syndicate’s tactic of using a condominium as a storage and packaging facility for vape cartridges containing illicit substances was uncovered after seven suspects were arrested in five simultaneous raids across Johor.
Johor Deputy Police Chief Deputy Commissioner Hoo Chuan Huat said the operations were carried out in Kulai, Johor Bahru, Iskandar Puteri and Muar on Sunday following intelligence gathered by police.
He said the first raid at a petrol station in the Kulai Rest and Recreation (R&R) area led to the arrest of a local man and a foreign woman.
The operation, which began at about 11am, resulted in the arrest of five local men, one foreign man and one foreign woman aged between 36 and 46.
“Checks on a multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) uncovered 9,000 vape cartridges believed to contain methamphetamine liquid weighing 82.40kg, with an estimated value of RM4.12 million,” he said during a press conference at the Johor Police Contingent Headquarters on Wednesday.
Hoo said a second raid at Bandar Medini, Iskandar Puteri resulted in the arrest of a foreign man at a house believed to have been used as a storage and processing location for vape cartridges containing drugs.
Police also seized 47 plastic bottles containing vape flavouring, a glass bottle filled with methamphetamine liquid weighing 127.55 litres worth RM6.37 million, two packets of cocaine weighing 0.410kg, one packet of ketamine weighing 40g, as well as machines and equipment believed to have been used to fill the vape liquids.
A third raid at Taman Sutera Utama led to the arrest of a local man, with police seizing 11.45g of heroin, 20 Erimin 5 pills and 53 ecstasy pills.
Meanwhile, the fourth and fifth operations conducted at Mutiara Rini and a petrol station parking area in Tanjung Agas, Muar resulted in the arrest of three more local men.
Hoo said the total seizure involved 210.43kg of various types of drugs worth RM10.68 million, which could potentially be abused by an estimated 649,096 drug users.
Investigations revealed that the syndicate had been active since February and used condominiums as locations to package and fill vape cartridges before distributing them to the local market.
He said the suspects had different roles, with one acting as a transporter, another assisting operations, a third managing the storage location, while others worked as runners, package receivers, assistants and the suspected syndicate leader.
Two suspects tested positive for methamphetamine, while four others had previous records involving criminal and drug-related offences.
All seven suspects have been remanded for seven days from Aug 3 to Aug 9 to assist investigations under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
Police also seized three vehicles worth RM120,000 under the Dangerous Drugs (Forfeiture of Property) Act 1988, bringing the total value of seizures and confiscated assets to RM10.80 million.
