KL police cripple syndicate selling drugs in flavoured drinks
The first raid was conducted at a terraced house and a car within the vicinity, believed to have been used as a location to process and store drugs to evade detection by authorities.
KUALA LUMPUR - Police have crippled a drug trafficking syndicate that used flavoured drinks as a distribution medium following three raids conducted around the capital last Wednesday, resulting in seizures and confiscations amounting to RM978,857.
Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Fadil Marsus said the operations, carried out by the Kuala Lumpur Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department (NCID) based on intelligence and public information, also led to the arrest of a 29-year-old local man on the same day.
He said the first raid was conducted at a terraced house and a car within the vicinity, believed to have been used as a location to process and store drugs to evade detection by authorities.
"Two other raids were carried out at a vehicle and a house at separate locations. Following that, more seizures were made and investigations into other items are still ongoing," he told a media conference here today.
According to him, among the drugs seized were 867.25 kilogrammes (kg) of Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) liquid valued at RM701,850; 5.48 kg of MDMA powder worth RM37,800; 190 vape cartridges containing ketamine liquid totalling 380 millilitres valued at RM57,000; and 306 cannabis cigarettes weighing 304.97 grammes (g) worth RM30,600.
Police also seize 21g of ketamine worth RM4,200, 5.28g of ecstasy worth RM500 and 21.08g of Erimin 5 pills valued at RM400, which were all packed inside several transparent plastic packets, besides confiscating assets including two vehicles, a yellowish-coloured chain, two wristwatches, as well as cash in Malaysian and foreign currencies that brought the total value of seized items to RM978,857.
Fadil said investigations revealed that the suspect transported the drugs from one location to another using vehicles, while houses were used as storage and processing sites before being sold to the public without specific targets such as nightclubs.
He said the illicit substances were processed and packaged in the form of flavoured drinks, resembling ordinary beverages in the market as a tactic to mislead the authorities, while the selling price depends on the content and quality, with some fetching hundreds of ringgit.
Meanwhile, the 29-year-old suspect has been remanded for seven days from Jan 8 to Jan 14 to facilitate investigations under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 and initial drug screening tests showed on the suspect had returned negative results.
Fadil stressed that the Royal Malaysia Police will not compromise with any party involved in drug trafficking and will continue to intensify efforts to combat the crime, while urging the public to channel information related to drug distribution activities via the NCID Hotline at 012-208 7222. - BERNAMA
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