Police have smashed a drug trafficking syndicate with the seizure of RM8.67 million worth of cannabis flowers and the arrest of eight people, including a married couple, in Penang.
Penang police chief Azizee Ismail said the seizure and arrests were made in two raids in Bukit Mertajam between 10pm on Nov 4 and 6pm the following day.
In the first raid, police arrested five Malaysians and a British man of Pakistani descent at a homestay. This was followed by the arrest of another Malaysian man and his Thai wife in the same area later.
Azizee said police found 17 suitcases with packages containing suspected marijuana flowers, estimated to weigh 47.7kg. They also seized two cars worth a combined RM210,000.
“The syndicate is believed to have brought in the drugs by land from a neighbouring country and used the homestay to store and repackage the drugs,” Bernama reported him as saying at the Penang police headquarters.
He said the Malaysian and his Thai wife are believed to be the masterminds of the syndicate, which is believed to have been active since the middle of last month.
The suspects, aged between 20 and 37, tested negative for drugs. Four of them have records for criminal and drug-related offences.
They have been remanded for seven days for an investigation under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act for trafficking.
