BUTTERWORTH: Penang police seized 540kg of ganja worth RM1.7 million following the arrest of a man in three separate raids at Kepala Batas here last weekend.
In the 10pm incident on Saturday, police received a tip-off about a man driving a Proton Wira along Jalan Bertam Pertama in Kepala Batas.
They stopped the car and found a sack filled with 10 transparent packets containing dried compressed substance, believed to be ganja, weighing about 10kg with a market value of RM30,900.
A source said the 47-year old driver was detained and he then led police to a second raid at a house in Paya Keladi Masjid about 12.30am where they found an orange-covered barrel containing 55 transparent packets each containing ganja weighing another 10kg.
The raiding party also found 17 transparent packets each containing heroin and one polystyrene box containing seven plastic packets each filled with syabu.
The total drug seizure was estimated at RM143,046.
Further investigations led police to the third raid at 7am yesterday at a hut near the house.
The raiding party found a box containing dried leaves believed to be ganja, 21 packets of transparent plastics containing compressed ganja and two sacks each containing 22 transparent plastic packets filled with compressed ganja.
The team found 10 more sacks with each containing 44 transparent plastic packets containing dried leaves believed to be ganja hidden beneath the flooring and the total drugs seized at the hut amounted to 520kg valued at RM1.6 million.
Following the seizure police believe they have crippled a ganja trafficking syndicate which had been active in the area.
Penang police chief Commissioner Datuk A Thaiveegan is expected to hold a press conference on the raid tomorrow.