SUNGAI BULOH: Selangor police have dismantled a ketum processing syndicate, which was operating behind a landscaping business.
The group was said to have raked in at least RM20,000 monthly from the sale of thousands of 500ml bottles of ketum "juice".
State police chief Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said police conducted intelligence for about two months before conducting raids in Kampung Melayu Sungai Buloh last Thursday.
"We arrested two foreign men and two locals, aged between 21 and 42, and seized 1,100 bottles of 550 litres of ketum juice.
"We also seized 41 cartons of contraband cigarettes during the raids," he said yesterday.
He said checks revealed that three of the suspects worked at a landscaping company while the other suspect was unemployed.
"One of the suspects has a prior criminal record.
"Based on our investigations, the suspects received their supply of ketum leaves from Perak," he said, adding that they would receive at least 50kg of ketum leaves monthly.
He said the syndicate usually processed between 400 and 500 bottles of ketum juice every four days.
"They were capable of raking in at least RM20,000 every month from the sale of ketum juice.
"Based on our investigations, they began their operations in 2021 and sold the bottles for RM8 to RM10 each, depending on the time orders were made."
He said those who placed orders until 2pm were only charged RM8, while those who purchased the bottles after 3pm were charged RM10.
"They are believed to have received orders from regular customers via WhatsApp and they only accept cash as payments," he said, adding that this was the largest ketum processing syndicate busted by Selangor police to date.
He said the suspects had been remanded for seven days to assist in investigations.
"We believe the suspects were also selling contraband cigarettes as a side business," he said.
Hussein urged those with information on similar cases to contact the Selangor police hotline at 03-2052 9999 or go to the nearest police station to lodge a report.