SHAH ALAM: Police have busted a syndicate behind the supply of ganja in Selangor and Johor with the arrest of four people and seizing 1.33 tonnes of the drug on Thursday.
Federal police Narcotics Crime Investigation Department (NCID) director Comm Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said the 1,330kg of ganja was recovered at a store following the arrest of the suspects, who are aged between 23 and 45, in Subang Jaya, Rawang and Semenyih.
He said in the operation, which was carried out by the federal and Selangor NCID between 4.30pm and 11pm, four raids were conducted.
Ayob Khan said two of the suspects were jobless while the others were a businessman and a despatch clerk.
He said investigations showed that the drugs were sourced by the syndicate from neighbouring countries and smuggled into the country by road through secret passages at the Malaysia-Thai border.
“The second grade ganja was meant for distribution to drug users in Selangor and Johor. The quantity could feed 2.5 million drug users. The syndicate has been actively involved in drug dealing since January. Investigations are ongoing and we are looking for the remaining accomplices of the suspects,” Ayob Khan said in a press conference at the Selangor police headquarters.
He said one suspect tested positive for drug abuse while another had two past criminal records for drug-related offences.
Ayob Khan said police also impounded RM330,000 worth of assets from the suspects, including four cars.
The suspects are being held under a remand order and being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
Ayob Khan said the rise in ganja smuggling recently was due to the harvesting period of the plant in the Golden Triangle of Southeast Asia.
He said ganja suppliers were pushing out the drugs fast as the quality deteriorates when stored for too long.
Just over a week prior to the lastest bust, the federal NCID had seized almost half a tonne of ganja and 10k of syabu worth RM1.5 million in an earlier operation in Klang, where two men aged 31 and 47 were arrested. The supply of drugs was traced to Laos.
Earlier this month, federal NCID personnel nabbed a fisherman and nine civil servants from an enforcement agency for drug trafficking.
The civil servants, who are enforcement officers, allegedly sold 50kg of syabu worth RM1.8 million to a drug dealer.
Ayob Khan said that while the fisherman and civil servant have been charged in court for the offence, preventive laws for drug offences will be invoked on the remaining eight civil servants pending a decision from the Home Ministry.