PASIR GUDANG • Malaysian police have crippled a drug distribution syndicate and seized 2,060kg of drugs believed to be syabu, or crystal methamphetamine, worth RM103.2 million (S$34.7 million), local media reported yesterday.
The drugs were packed to look like Chinese tea packets.
The bust is the biggest drug haul in the history of Malaysian police, the federal police's Narcotics Crime Investigation Department director, Commissioner Mohamad Salleh, was quoted as saying by The Star newspaper.
Meanwhile, the authorities in the Philippines have seized around 160kg of methamphetamine valued at more than 1.1 billion pesos (S$28 million) from an upscale enclave just south of the capital Manila, where top lawmakers, politicians, celebrities and executives live
Three Chinese nationals and a Chinese-Filipino interpreter were arrested on Tuesday in separate raids in Ayala Alabang Village and at a nearby shopping mall. The drugs were concealed in tea wrappers and biscuit cans, similar to seizures in Malaysia, Thailand and Myanmar.
Back in Malaysia, Datuk Seri Mohamad said police have arrested six local men, aged between 35 and 45, in three separate raids on Tuesday at separate places in Johor's Ulu Tiram district - Taman Desa Cemerlang and Taman Pelangi Indah.
"Initial investigation showed the drugs were for local and international markets," he told a news conference at district police headquarters in Pasir Gudang yesterday.
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IN MALAYSIA
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2,060kg
Drugs believed to be syabu, or crystal methamphetamine, seized. They were packed to look like Chinese tea packets.
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IN THE PHILIPPINES
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160kg
Methamphetamine seized at an upscale enclave just south of the capital Manila. The drugs were concealed in tea wrappers and biscuit cans, similar to seizures in Malaysia, Thailand and Myanmar.
"The syndicate brings in the drugs via sea routes and makes the country a transit point before they are distributed to the local and foreign markets," he was quoted by Malay Mail online news as saying.
He said the drugs, disguised as Guanyinwang Chinese tea, were believed to be from the "Golden Triangle" countries of Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand.
Mr Mohamad said the syndicate has been around for some time, and that apart from the domestic market, the drugs were also meant for distribution in Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, South Korea, Australia, Japan and New Zealand.
"The 2,060kg of drugs were hidden in a container near a fish pond at an oil palm plantation in Taman Desa Cemerlang," he said, as reported by The Star.
He said police also seized seven vehicles, RM6,270 in cash, three watches and gold jewellery worth around RM489,000.
