GEORGE TOWN: An antique seller and his China national girlfriend were detained in connection with their alleged involvement in a drug trafficking syndicate following three raids here on Thursday.
Besides the arrest of the 42-year-old mastermind and his girlfriend, also detained were his two male friends, a durian seller and a food seller.
State Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department chief Assistant Commissioner Mustafa Kamal Gani Abdullah said in the series of raids which began at 5pm saw police first detaining the durian seller in front of a double-storey terrace house in Sungai Pinang here.
He said an assortment of drugs which included Eramin 5 pills, MDMA powder, ketamin, ganja and Ecstasy pills were seized from him.
"In a follow-up operation, police detained another two men, the food seller and the antique seller, aged 39 and 42, inside a Nissan Sentra car at Jalan Perak. Further checks inside the vehicle led to the recovery of Eramin 5 pills.
"Following the duo's arrest, police raided a three-storey terrace house in Bukit Gambir and detained the 32-year-old China national woman. Checks inside the house, led to the seizure of Eramin 5 pills, syabu, MDMA powder and Ecstasy pills. We also seized machines and other paraphernalia used in processing Ecstasy pills in the kitchen and the ground floor of the rented house.
"The woman is the girlfriend of the mastermind and they are staying together at the house. We believe she has the expertise to process the drugs before selling them to buyers," he told a press conference at the state police contingent headquarters here today.
Mustafa Kamal said the drugs seized in the three raids amounted to RM398,352, which included 1,470 Eramin 5 pill, 1.5gm ketamin, 6,219gm MDMA, 23gm syabu and 11gm ganja.
"Police also seized jewellery and a Honda City worth RM28,340, bringing the amount of the overall seizure to RM426,692.
"All of them have been remanded for five days until July 6 to assist investigation into the case," he added.
Further checks showed the food seller had several previous records for crime and drugs and his urine test came back positive for drugs.
Checks also revealed the mastermind had a previous drug record and his urine test came back positive for methamphetamine.
Mustafa Kamal said the syndicate has been active since the beginning of this year, targeting the local market.
The amount of drugs seized can be used by 22,347 addicts if they found their way into the market.
The case is probed under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drug Act 1952.