GEORGE TOWN: Police have dismantled two drug trafficking syndicates, arresting seven people, including a Vietnamese woman, and seizing RM1.32 million worth of drugs in state raids since last Friday.
Penang police chief Datuk Hamzah Ahmad said that in the first case, police arrested two local men and a Vietnamese woman in a raid yesterday in Butterworth, following intelligence gathering and surveillance."
In the raid, police arrested the three individuals, aged between 25 and 34, and seized 595g of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and 915.71g of ketamine, all valued at RM1.1 million."
The drugs are sourced from a drug distribution syndicate and are intended for distribution at entertainment centres around Penang," he said today.
One of the men works as a jewellery salesman, while the other is unemployed.
The woman arrested is the girlfriend of one of the suspects, and they have been involved in drug distribution activities since October last year.
Hamzah said the total amount of drugs seized could have been used by 50,000 drug users or for 50,000 individual uses.
He said urine tests revealed that the two men tested positive for methamphetamine, amphetamine, ketamine, and benzodiazepines.
Following the arrest of the three suspects, police also seized a car, jewellery, branded watches, and cash, all worth RM56,000.In the second case, police arrested four local men, aged between 24 and 48, in separate raids around George Town, involved in drug trafficking activities.
Hamzah said various types of drugs, worth RM66,215, were seized in raids from last Friday to yesterday."
In the raids, conducted from 10.15 pm on Friday to 1.45 am yesterday, police seized 4,993.28g of heroin, 544 sticks of mushrooms weighing 942g, 20 tablets of Eramin 5, and 1.52g of syabu," he added, noting that the drugs could be used by 27,500 drug users.
He said the individuals arrested were a barber, a restaurant worker, and an unemployed person, all members of an active drug distribution syndicate since mid-last year.
One of the suspects has a history of drug-related and criminal offences, and following the arrest of the four men, police seized a car and jewellery valued at RM153,000."
All seven individuals are now under remand for seven days, from today until January 24, and both cases are being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952," he said.