GEORGE TOWN, May 8 — Penang police have busted a drug trafficking syndicate and seized drugs worth RM274,482 with the arrest of nine people, including six foreigners, in a series of raids in the state from May 2 to 6.

State police chief Datuk Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said all the suspects, aged between 22 and 46, were believed to be active in trafficking drugs since early last year.

"The police initially raided a house here at 2.30pm on May 2 and arrested a couple, a local man and his Vietnamese wife, aged 32 and 34 respectively.

"The police seized 613.30g of methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA), ketamine (10.8g), syabu (1.59g), 30 ecstasy pills and 100 Eramin 5 pills, worth a total of RM9,198,” he told a press conference here today.

Following the arrest, he said the police raided a house in Air Itam, here on the same day at 6pm and arrested a Vietnamese couple aged 40 and 42 and seized various types of drugs worth RM104,296.

The police then raided a car wash shop in Permatang Pauh, near here at 5.05pm on May 5 and arrested three Myanmar men aged between 22 and 26 and seized 45 transparent packets weighing 47,000g worth RM146,000.

He said the police arrested two local men aged 34 and 46 in Perai and Butterworth on May 6 and seized 1,812g of heroin worth RM14,988 from them.

Two of the suspects, who were remanded for a week, tested positive for drugs while four of them had criminal records, he added. — Bernama