Drug bust in Malaysia uncovers major scam call centre
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More than 6 tonnes of drugs with an estimated street value of $330 million were seized in the raids in Selangor and KL.
PHOTO: THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
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KAJANG - More than 6 tonnes of drugs with an estimated street value of RM1.04 billion (S$330 million) were seized following raids in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, dealing a major blow to an international drug syndicate.
The raids, carried out on Dec 21, also resulted in an unexpected discovery: a scam call centre.
Bukit Aman Narcotics Crime Investigation Department director Commissioner Hussein Omar Khan said the raid in Kajang, Selangor, uncovered a scam operation.
“We detained 14 suspects during the raid... We believe the drug syndicate was also moonlighting as a scam syndicate,” Datuk Hussein told reporters at Semenyih police station on Dec 26.
“We never expected to uncover a scam operation as well,” he added.
The suspects have since been handed over to the Commercial Crime Investigation Department, he said.
The Dec 21 raids targeted remnants of a syndicate that was initially crippled in an earlier operation
Datuk Hussein said the latest operation was a follow-up to the earlier raid, codenamed Ops Gaharu.
“We conducted the latest raids at Selesa Jaya Industrial Park in Seri Kembangan and an industrial area in Kepong on Dec 21.
“In total, we seized 6.1 tonnes of liquid MDMA, 20.3kg of cocaine and 1.3kg of ketamine, with a combined street value of RM1.04 billion, along with various equipment used to process drugs,” he said.
Mr Hussein said the drugs seized in the latest operation could have been supplied to as many as 20.7 million users.
Initial investigations revealed that the syndicate’s mastermind is from an eastern country and remains at large.
“We believe the drug precursors and chemists were supplied from the same country. The syndicate used Malaysia as a processing hub before distributing the drugs to several overseas destinations, including Hong Kong and Australia,” he said.
Mr Hussein added that police would seek the assistance of overseas counterparts and Interpol to track down the remaining members of the syndicate, including its mastermind.
During the first series of raids on Dec 16, police arrested three locals and three foreigners. Investigators believe the syndicate comprises more than 12 members and has been operating since January.
Overall, Mr Hussein said the two rounds of raids on Dec 16 and 21 resulted in the seizure of 24.7 tonnes of drugs valued at about RM2.6 billion.
“This is arguably the biggest syndicate we have busted.
“They operated 14 premises – four factories and 10 residential properties – which were used as drug-processing laboratories and storage facilities,” he said.
According to Mr Hussein, the international syndicate hired locals to act as coordinators for its operations.
“Each premise was rented at between RM6,000 and RM10,000 a month.
“Based on the equipment seized, it is clear that this was a large-scale and well-organised drug operation,” he added. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
