Johor baru: Police seized various types of drugs worth RM3.55 million and arrested a local man and two Vietnamese women in special operations conducted on July 10 and 11. Johor police chief Datuk M. Kumar said the three suspects, aged between 32 and 39, were arrested during separate raids conducted by the Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department of the state police and the Johor Baru Selatan district police.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the syndicate, which is believed to be active since April this year, used gated and guarded residences to store and process the drugs before distributing them to the local market. The drugs were seized following the arrest of the local man by a roadside, which then led the police to raid a rented room in a shophouse.

“The suspect also led the police to conduct raids at three luxury condominium units, also rented by him, where more drugs were seized and two Vietnamese women were arrested,” Kumar told a press conference at the Johor Police Contingent Headquarters.

In total, the police seized 20.7 kilogrammes (kg) of powder suspected to be ecstasy, 18.49 kg of marijuana, 154.25 grams of ketamine, and 141 grams of erimin 5 pills. They also found various equipment for processing and repackaging drugs, as well as RM800 in cash. The current drug trafficking trend appears to be shifting towards marijuana flowers, based on recent seizures.

“This may be because marijuana flowers have a higher hallucinogenic effect due to their purity, besides being more expensive, with an estimated market value of RM36,000 per kilogramme,” Kumar added.

All the suspects, who tested positive for methamphetamine, were on remand until July 17, and the case was being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 and Section 6(3) of the Immigration Act 1959/63.