JOHOR BAHRU, Oct 20 — The Johor police have crippled a drug syndicate using vape devices with the arrest of three individuals during a special operation involving three separate raids in and around Johor Bahru from Wednesday to Thursday last week.
Johor police chief Datuk CP M. Kumar said that in the three raids, officers detained two men and a woman, aged between 27 and 44, between 6.45pm and 4am.
The police seized various types of drugs valued at RM2.827 million during the operation.
“In this operation, we managed to seize 16,345g of ecstasy powder, 225g of ketamine, 68.87g of methamphetamine, 40g (140 tablets) of Eramin 5, 115g (294 tablets) of ecstasy, 14.75g of cannabis, as well as 330ml of liquid suspected to be drugs contained in 10 vape cartridges and five refill bottles.
“We also seized a car valued at RM44,000 and cash amounting to RM160. The total value of the seizures and confiscations from this operation is RM3.899 million.”
“This syndicate is believed to have rented a gated and guarded apartment for a short period to avoid detection,” he said during a press conference at the Johor police contingent headquarters today.
Kumar noted that the syndicate, which has been active since August, used the apartment as a storage and processing facility for repackaging drugs before distributing them to the local market.
Urine tests indicated that all suspects tested positive for methamphetamine, while two of them had prior records related to drugs and other criminal activities.
Meanwhile, he said another drug syndicate was also busted after a seizure valued at RM871,068 in a raid in the area on Tuesday.
During this operation, two local men and one local woman were arrested in an apartment that was also used as a storage and processing facility for drugs before distribution in the local market.
“In this operation, we seized 5.025g of ecstasy powder, 1.65g of ketamine, and 189ml of ecstasy liquid, valued at RM871,068.
“The police also seized two cars worth RM155,000 and cash amounting to RM1,850. The total value of the seizures from this operation is RM1.027 million,” said Kumar.
All suspects from the two syndicates have been remanded for seven days from October 16 onwards, under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
— Bernama
