KULIM: Kedah police have crippled a drug trafficking syndicate following the arrest of eight suspects in Kulim and Penang, leading to the seizure of 58.9kg of cannabis worth nearly RM150,000.
New Kedah police chief Commissioner Wan Hassan Wan Ahmad said police uncovered the syndicate's operation following the arrest of a bus driver in Kulim last Thursday.
He said, in the 5.15pm joint raid by the state and district Narcotics Department, police found 0.35g of cannabis in a sling bag belonging to the 47-year-old driver.
"Upon inspecting the bus, the team seized two sacks of cannabis. The first sack contained 19 slabs of compressed cannabis weighing 19.5kg while the second sack contained 22 slabs of compressed cannabis weighing 22.4kg.
"The team later seized another sack containing 12 slabs of compressed cannabis weighing 11.9kg in a compartment underneath the bus," he told reporters at the district police headquarters today.
Wan Hassan said, following the seizure, police launched four follow-up raids; one in Kulim and three in Penang between Jan 7 and 9, where more cannabis was seized and seven people, including a married couple, were arrested.
"The raids were carried out in Taman Kemuning, here, as well as in Ayer Hitam, Butterworth and Jelutong in Penang, where we seized more drugs," he said.
Wan Hassan said police believed the syndicate had been trafficking cannabis in the northern region since nearly a year ago.
He did not discount the possibility that the syndicate had been using public transportation to ship the drugs sourced from a neighbouring country.
"We are tracking down the remaining members of the syndicate," he said.
Wan Hassan said the estimated value of the seized cannabis was RM147,450 and police had also seized three vehicles worth RM38,000 from the suspects.
He added that police had obtained a remand order against all of the suspects, aged between 29 and 49, until tomorrow.
"The suspects, who worked as bus driver, taxi driver, security guard and labourer, are being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952," he said.
Under that section, for drug trafficking, anyone found guilty is subject to a mandatory death penalty.
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