JOHOR BARU, May 23 — The Johor police seized more than RM300,000 in illicit narcotics after they crippled a local syndicate that uses junk cars to store the illicit drugs as a ruse to avoid detection.

Johor police chief M. Kumar said police arrested two local men, aged 35 and 36, during a five-day special operation that started on May 16.

He said the suspects arrested were found to be the syndicate’s drug dealers and were tasked with storing and selling the drugs.

"Investigations also found that the syndicate members had deliberately stored the illicit drugs in the junk cars parked in open locations within the city to avoid being detected.

"The two suspects kept their drug supplies in such cars, with one parked in a residential area while another behind a commercial premises in Taman Mount Austin,” Kumar said during a press conference at the Johor police contingent headquarters here today.

He said a total of 13.8kg of various illicit drugs hidden in the vehicles.

"The haul consisted of 10.74kg of heroin, 80 grammes (g) of syabu, 875g of marijuana and 6,100 Eramin 5 pills, all of which have a market value of RM331,339,” he said, adding that the seized amount of drugs could cater to 61,080 addicts in the state.

Kumar said initial investigations revealed that the syndicate has been actively operating since March this year.

"In addition to the drug seizure, the police also confiscated two other cars worth RM75,000, two motorcycles worth RM11,000, cash that included Singapore currency worth RM5,020 and a gold chain estimated to cost RM3,330.

"Both the suspects have been remanded since May 17 and police are investigating the case under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1953, which carries the death penalty or life imprisonment and whipping upon conviction,” he said.

Meanwhile, Kumar said that the Johor police contingent had seized a total of 2.1 tonnes of illicit drugs worth RM18.79 million in various anti-drug operations in the state between January 1 and Monday.

He added that a total of 10,006 drug-related offenders have been arrested and property worth RM6.34 million was confiscated during the same period.