SHAH ALAM: A cosmetics entrepreneur who claimed to be a 'Datuk Seri' was among four people arrested by the police over suspected ties to an international drug-trafficking syndicate.
The Kelantanese entrepreneur and his brother, an army officer based in Kuala Lumpur, were nabbed in a series of raids by the police around Taman Serdang Perdana, Seri Kembangan in Serdang last Tuesday.
Selangor deputy police chief Deputy Commissioner Datuk Arjunaidi Mohamed said the raids were jointly conducted by the Selangor Narcotics Investigation Department and the Serdang Narcotics Division.
"In the first raid, police caught two brothers, aged 25 and 31, who were in a Ford Mustang at the location's roadside.
Upon checking the car, police found 120 Chinese tea packets containing methamphetamine weighing 126.86 kilogrammes, estimated to be worth RM5 million.
Police also seized the sports car, believed to be worth around RM500,000. The car was registered under one of the suspect's wife's name.
Arjunaidi, speaking at a press conference at the Selangor state police headquarters here today, said that while the cosmetics entrepreneur claimed to be a 'Datuk Seri' in his business card, police checks revealed that he was not.
He said police were nevertheless still investigating whether he was a legitimate 'Datuk Seri'.
"The suspects do not have a criminal record. Their urine tests were also negative for drugs," he said.
Following their arrests, police detained three unemployed men - two Malaysians and one Indonesian, aged between 32 and 43.
They were believed to be the middlemen in the drug transactions.
"Preliminary screenings showed that they tested positive for methamphetamine. Two of the suspects have a previous criminal and drug record."
Arjunaidi said police also seized three vehicles - a Nissan Almeira, a Toyota Innova and a Honda HRV as well as cash during the second arrest.
The total value of the seizure in the second arrest came to RM158,000.
He said the syndicate was believed to have been operating for more than five months and had made Malaysia a transit point to distribute drugs to neighbouring countries.
"This syndicate is believed to be trafficking drugs from neighbouring countries in the north. The drugs are brought to the East Coast and then to the West Coast. Based on our intelligence reports, there is a possibility that the next destination for the drugs is another neighbouring country.
"As such, the drugs were not meant for the local market," he said, adding that one of the suspects was believed to be the syndicate's mastermind.
All those arrested are now serving out a week-long remand until Nov 17.
The case is being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 for trafficking, which carries the mandatory death penalty upon conviction.