SEPANG: Police successfully botched an international drug syndicate's attempt to smuggle methamphetamine or syabu worth RM8.1 million to New Zealand.
Four suspects allegedly members of the international drug smuggling syndicate were also arrested in a series of raids, between Oct 22 and Oct 26.
Bukit Aman Narcotics Crime Investigation Department director Datuk Razaruddin Husain said the syndicate intended to smuggle 200 kgs of syabu packed as Chinese tea to Auckland in New Zealand.
He said the drugs which were concealed in five consignments were found at Core 3 Paddock 54 at Mas Cargo building here on Oct 22.
"Police were alerted by the Malaysia Airport Berhad security, after they found the consignment to be suspicious under the security scanner.
"Following the discovery, police arrested the first suspect, who is a worker at Mas Cargo and launched a series of raids in KL and Selangor where three more suspects were picked up."
Razaruddin said police have also identified the mastermind behind the international drug smuggling syndicate.
"Two of the four suspects picked up are workers of Mas Cargo, who are also suspected members of the international drug smuggling syndicate."
He said the workers role was to facilitate the smooth courier process in terms of logistics and transfer from here to the destination country and the two others had played the role of forwarding agents for the syndicate.
"Initial investigations revealed that the syabu worth RM8.1mil were packed inside 180 small packets and were declared as Chinese tea on the airway bill. This is also not the first time the syndicate has sent similar consignments overseas," he said.
Razaruddin said the drugs may have been brought in via a neighbouring country either by land or water, before it was to be air transported to New Zealand.
"Police are still investigating the origin of the drugs but we cannot rule out the possibility it could have come from any of our neighbouring countries.
"The investigations against this syndicate started in April and have so far botched five international drug smuggling attempts," he said in a press conference at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
Also present at the press conference was the Selangor police chief, Datuk Arjunaidi Mohamad.
"Thank you to MAB for the high alertness and cooperation in helping the police curb crime, especially in attempts to smuggle drugs out of the country.
"This is the fifth time MAB has alerted police on similar discoveries and we thank them for their close cooperation," he said.
All those arrested, aged between 34 and 59-years-old, will be investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drug Act 1952.
"One of the four suspects tested positive for drugs while the rest negative and did not have any past criminal records," he said
Razaruddin believes the drugs may have come from one of the countries in the region's golden triangle.
"This is a big syndicate which has been operating under the radar for a while, thus police need more time to investigate and build a strong case against those involved".
He added police do not tolerate any party that tries to use Malaysia as a transit for their illegal activities and ruin the image of the country.
Apart from the drugs seized, assets such as vehicles, watches and valuables worth almost RM240,000 were also seized from the suspects bringing the total worth to RM8.33 million.