KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 9 — Police busted three drug trafficking syndicates around the Klang Valley and Johor and seized various types of drugs worth over RM24 million in three separate operations on Saturday (October 5) and Monday (October 7).

Bukit Aman Narcotics Crime Investigation Department (NCID) director Datuk Seri Khaw Kok Chin said that, in the first operation on Saturday, they carried out five raids at the Eco Sky Residence here and in Muar, Johor at 11.45am.

From the five raids, police arrested seven men and two Thai women, all aged between 34 and 48, including the syndicate leader, and seized 111.96 kilogrammes (kg) of syabu, 19.49kg of ketamine, 60 Erimin 5 pills, 138 grammes of heroin and four ecstasy pills worth a total of RM5 million.

"This syndicate’s modus operandi is to use luxury condominiums and vehicles of deceased owners and vehicles without ownership transfer for storing drugs. The syndicate also used Chinese temples to carry out their activities.

"This case is being investigated under Sections 39B and 39B(1) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 while all the suspects have been remanded between three and seven days from Sunday (Oct 6),” he told a media conference at the Kuala Lumpur Police Headquarters here today.

In the second operation on Monday, Khaw said they raided premises at the Kepong Industrial Park (KIP) here and nabbed a 32-year-old man suspected of acting as a storekeeper and transporter of a syndicate.

Upon further inspection of a vehicle and the premises, police found 350 packets, with the words "Red Apple”, suspected to contain 358kg of methamphetamines worth an estimated RM11.4 million.

"This syndicate has been active since early this year and its modus operandi is to use the premises, which it rented just four days ago, to store drugs before distributing them to the domestic market, especially in the Klang Valley,” he said.

Meanwhile, at 10.30pm on the same day, police launched a third operation by raiding a house in Bandar Menjalara, Kepong here and arrested three Thai nationals — a man and two women aged between 22 and 24.

Khaw said that upon inspecting the ground floor of the premises, they found 250 packets of "Guan Yin Wang” herbal tea suspected to be 256kg of methamphetamines and 125 buckets of sponge cake emulsifier, with each bucket contaning two packets of syabu worth RM66,000 that had been sealed airtight.

"The amount of drugs seized is estimated at RM8.18 million and could be used by over 1.2 million addicts. The syndicate is believed to have been active since early this year.

"Its modus operandi is to use the premises to store and repack the drugs before distributing them to international and domestic markets,” he said.

He said all suspects arrested in the second and third operations have been remanded for seven days until Oct 14 to assist in investigations under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952. — Bernama