PETALING JAYA – A man who used his grocery shop as a front to conduct drug trafficking activities was finally caught when the police raided his shop in Kampung Sungai Kayu, Ara Damansara on Monday night.
Petaling Jaya district police chief ACP Nik Ezanee Mohd Faisal said police found 505 grams (g) of cannabis hidden in a fridge in the shop during the raid and subsequently seized another 80 g of the same drug in another fridge at a house nearby after the suspect, aged 25, led them there.
The total value of the drugs is estimated to be RM5,500.
“After he was interviewed, the police raided another house in Kampung Sungai Ara and arrested seven men, aged 19 to 25, and seized 1875 g of cannabis in a backpack worth an estimated RM5,360.
“Initial investigations revealed all the suspects were believed to have been trafficking drugs since last September and obtained their supply from a neighbouring country to be sold in the Klang Valley,” he said at a media conference at the Petaling Jaya district police headquarters (DPH) here today.
He said five of the eight suspects arrested possessed criminal records and all of them tested negative for drugs.
He said they would be remanded for seven days till March 15, and the case was being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
Meanwhile, Nik Ezanee said two men, aged 29 and 30, were also arrested in a separate raid conducted by a team from the Kuala Lumpur contingent police headquarters on a house in Bandar Utama. The two are believed to be linked to the earlier arrest conducted in Kampung Sungai Kayu Ara.
According to him, police also seized 1,780 g of drugs suspected to be cannabis worth RM9,000, RM35,000 in cash and a Honda Civic.
“Both suspects did not have any prior criminal records but tested positive for drugs and have been remanded for seven days for investigation.
He explained that investigation was underway to identify their roles in drug trafficking activities in the Klang Valley.
Cigarette smuggling foiled
Marine Police Force Region Two (PPM W2) meanwhile foiled an attempt to smuggle in cigarettes worth RM52 million after stopping a foreign cargo ship southwest of Pulau Kukup, near Pontian.
Bukit Aman Internal Security and Public Order Division (KDNKD) director Datuk Seri Abd Rahim Jaafar said PPM W2 Intelligence Unit patrol boats detained the Mongolian registered ship at about 8.15pm after tracking its movement in Myanmar waters.
He said the patrol boats had tried to intervene but the captain of the ship refused to cooperate and the ship was finally stopped when it was some 2.9 nautical miles southwest of Pulau Kukup.
“Checks aboard the ship found over 7,000 boxes of contraband cigarettes, which is the largest seizure in the country’s history, ” he told reporters at a press conference, here today.
Abd Rahim said the police had noticed that the ship had been sailing back and forth from Batam, Indonesia, to Johor west coast since last month and was distributing cigarettes to small local boats along the route.
“The ship will try to enter our waters when there are no enforcement,” he said, adding that the cigarettes were believed to be packed in plastic bags before they are thrown into the sea for the small boats to collect.
Ten crew members along with the captain, who are Myanmar and Singapore nationals aged between 22 and 60, have been detained to facilitate investigations under Section 135 (1) (a) of the Customs Act 1967, he added.
Gang crippled
In Bentong, police have crippled the ‘Nuar Manchis’ gang after arresting five local men here and in Kuala Lumpur and seizing around 4.4 kg of drugs believed to be heroin worth RM48,947.
Pahang deputy police chief, Datuk Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri said the arrest of the suspects, aged 21 to 35, were made by police teams from the Bentong and Sentul district police headquarters (IPD) between Wednesday and Friday (March 3 to 5).
According to him, two of the men who were riding a motorcycle along Jalan Lama Bentong, here, at 6.30 pm, last Wednesday were arrested when 905 gm of drugs were found on them.
“Both suspects tested positive for methamphetamine and each had a previous drug offence. Their seven-day remand order which ends today will be extended,” he said at a news conference at the Bentong IPD today.
Mohd Yusri said police then detained another man at about 6.45 pm on Thursday at an apartment in Sentul to facilitate the investigation. The fourth man was arrested at 1.45 pm and 530 gm of drugs seized from him at the same location on Friday.
Both men have been remanded for seven days beginning Friday and Saturday for further investigation.
The last arrest was made at a car park in Brickfields at 5 pm on Friday and the suspect, who has two records related to drug offences, had 2.97 kg of drugs with him.
Mohd Yusri said the syndicate got their heroin supply from Kuala Lumpur for distribution in Bentong district and had been active for four months now.
In addition to the drugs, he said cash totalling RM14,700 and jewellery worth RM14,300 were seized, and all the suspects are being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
Meanwhile, Mohd Yusri reminded the public, especially those in Pahang, not to be easily deceived by Love Scam syndicates.
Without revealing the figure, he said the losses suffered by victims involved a large sum.
