KUALA LUMPUR: Almost 8kg of pure heroin and 74kg of precursor chemicals worth RM7.89mil have been seized in the city and Hong Kong following a raid on a condominium here.
The drugs were hidden in frog statues to be smuggled into Hong Kong.
Bukit Aman Narcotics Crime Investigation Department (NCID) director Comm Datuk Seri Mohd Kamarudin Md Din said police also detained a local man, a male Hong Kong citizen and a Mongolian woman at the Jalan Sultan Ismail highrise on Friday (Jan 5).
"Our counterparts in the Hong Kong Narcotics Bureau (HKNB) also detained two of their citizens, both aged 26, they believed to be linked to the syndicate in Malaysia.
"The success of this operation is thanks to the cooperation between NCID and HKNB," he told a press conference at Kuala Lumpur police headquarters here on Wednesday (Jan 10).
Comm Mohd Kamarudin said 74.03kg of the chemicals and 7.41kg of pure heroin were seized at the condominium in the city, while 3.5kg of pure heroin was seized in Hong Kong.
"The drugs and chemicals seized have a street value of RM7.89mil or HK$13.26mil.
"The drugs could have been supplied to 399,168 drug users.
"We also seized equipment used to process and package the drugs from the condominium unit," he said.
The syndicate not only used the unit to process and store the drugs but also to make the statues in which to stash the heroin, he said.
"We believe they have been operating for at least a month.
"They would hide the drugs in the statues and send them to Hong Kong via courier," he said.
Comm Mohd Kamarudin said the suspects detained here have been remanded until Friday (Jan 12).
"The Mongolian woman detained tested positive for methamphetamine and amphetamine.
"The local man had a record for illegal gambling," he said, adding that the suspect also drove a taxi.
Comm Mohd Kamarudin said the NCID was tracking down remnants of the syndicate and urged anyone with information on drug-related activities to contact the NCID hotline at 012-2087222.
