JOHOR BARU, June 2 — Police arrested an elderly couple in their 70s, their son and his friend on suspicion of involvement in a major drug trafficking syndicate that has been active here for the past four months.
Johor police contingent anti-narcotics operatives also seized illicit drugs worth about RM1.25 million following a series of raids in the city here on Tuesday afternoon.
Johor police chief Datuk Kamarul Zaman Mamat said the suspects were arrested through separate raids around the city starting at 3.30pm on Tuesday with the operation ending yesterday.
He said the police also raided an apartment and a house believed to be used as drugs storage facilities.
“We arrested three suspects who are family members, a man aged 73, his wife aged 70 and their son aged 36.
“Apart from that, police also arrested a 36-year-old male suspect, who is a friend of the couple's son, to assist in investigations,” said Kamarul Zaman at a media conference held at the Johor police contingent headquarters here today.
Among the drugs seized were 14.31kg of powdered ecstasy, 4.06kg of ketamine, 3.76kg of ecstasy in tablet form and 6,440 in Eramin 5 pills valued at RM1.25 million.
“The results of the urine test also found that two suspects tested positive for methamphetamine abuse while another suspect had a previous criminal record related to illicit drugs,” he said.
Kamarul Zaman said initial investigations revealed that the modus operandi employed by the elderly couple and their son was to use their homes as drug stores to cater to the local market.
“If we look at the technique in which they pack the drugs, we believe these houses are only used as storage areas.
“However, we will investigate whether the suspect is also involved in drug processing activities,” he said.
Kamarul Zaman said investigators believe that the seized drugs would have gone to nightclubs in the city and enough to serve at least 200,000 users.
He said all the suspects have been remanded for seven days starting June 1 for further investigation.
“Police are investigating the case under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 that carries the mandatory death sentence upon conviction,” he said.
