GEORGE TOWN, Sept 13 — Police arrested two couples and two men and seized various types of drugs worth RM102,293 in a series of raids around the Timur Laut district here from September 7 until yesterday.

Acting Timur Laut District Police chief Supt V. Saravanan said that, in the first case, police arrested a couple, a 30-year-old man and a 20-year-old foreign woman, in a raid in the Persiaran Karpal Singh area here at 7pm on September 7.

He said that about 45 minutes after the arrest, police raided a house in Sungai Pinang and seized 183 packets of instant drinks that had been mixed with methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA) powder-type drugs weighing 4,219 grammes valued at RM64,050.

"Our investigations found that the couple had used the house to process the MDMA drugs before mixing them into the instant drink powder and repacking and distributing them at entertainment outlets or karaoke centres in the state,” he told a press conference here today.

He said police then arrested a 31-year-old man, who is a member of the syndicate, in front of a business premises in Pulau Tikus at 11.30pm on the same day and seized various types of drugs, including 16 packets of MDMA, ketamine and 30 eramin 5 pills, with the total seizure valued at RM6,390.

Saravanan said investigations found that the three of them had been involved in the activities since early this year, selling the drug-laced instant drinks that come in various flavours for RM300 per packet.

He said police also confiscated a car, cash and jewellery worth a total of RM32,350 while all three also tested positive for drugs.

In the second case, Saravanan said police arrested a couple believed to be involved in drug trafficking and seized ganja and syabu worth RM25,959 when they raided a house here at 5.30pm yesterday.

"The 40-year-old man and his 26-year-old girlfriend were arrested while 526 grammes of ganja and 122 grammes of syabu were also seized. They have been involved in drug trafficking around the Timur Laut district since early this year,” he said.

In the third case, he said police arrested a 33-year-old man by the roadside at Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah, Gelugor here at 2.25am yesterday and seized 1,080 psychotropic pills valued at RM5,903.

Saravanan said all the suspects have been remanded for a week to assist in investigations under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952. — Bernama