Malaysian Penang Marine Police cracked down the methamphetamine transaction between Indonesia and Penang drug groups, arrested five men, including the leaders of Malaysian and Indonesian drug cartels, and seized nearly RM1 million (RM is about USD 0.25) worth of methamphetamine.
This is Penang’s largest drug case so far this year.
According to Malaysia’s Sing Chau Daily, Penang Police Chief Changsha Habuddin said at a press conference on the 22nd that the Marine Police Department intercepted two Indonesian men in motorboats in the waters along the direct drop of Denbuya at 6:30 p.m.
on the 17th of this month. According to the interrogation information, the Marine Police raided a hut on the Juye River in an illegal pier in the Balibai Industrial Zone at 4 a.m. on the 18th, arrested a Malay man, and seized 130 packs of methamphetamine from the motorboat behind the cabin.
Meanwhile, the Marine Police also found 115 packs of methamphetamine in the car in front of the cabin. Following up on the investigation, Penang Marine Police arrested another Malay and Chinese man.
Shahabuddin revealed that the five suspects arrested were between the ages of 29 and 57. One 54-year-old Malay man was the head of the Penang drug group and a fisherman, and a 33-year-old Indonesian man was the head of an Indonesian drug trafficking group.
The arrested Indonesian suspects are all from Aceh Province of the country and are ready to bring meth back to Aceh after trading in the waters near Penang. Shahabuddin said that the seized drugs could supply 1.32 million people to smoke.
In addition to drugs, Penang police also seized four cars and gold jewelry of the suspect, worth more than 180,000 lingi.
Recently, Malaysia is gradually changing from the drug market to a drug transfer station in Southeast Asia.
On December 9 last year, Malaysia’s maritime law enforcement agency cracked the largest drug case in 16 years since the establishment of the agency, intercepted methamphetamine weighing more than 2 tons and market valueing more than 100 million RMK, and arrested a 26-year-old male suspect.
Malaysia’s Oriental Daily said that the drug epidemic in the country has reached a very serious level.
According to the data of Malaysia’s Anti-drug Agency, the number of drug users in the country has increased year by year.
Since 2014, the number of drug users recorded nationwide has exceeded 140,000, but the real number may be several times that recorded.
Malaysian police chief Abdul Hami warned that the local drug problem was on the verge of getting out of control, as well as within the police force. If not controlled in time, the situation would be as unmanageable as Colombia.
