No hiding now: Comm Kumar (right) showing some of the seized drugs at a press conference in Johor Baru.
JOHOR BARU: Police have smashed a drug syndicate that used old cars as their mobile drug stores with the arrest of four men in Kulai and Skudai.
Johor police chief Comm Datuk M. Kumar said the arrests were made in an operation last Wednesday from 4pm to 9pm.
He said the suspects were caught with various drugs worth RM309,192.
“The syndicate’s method was to get the drugs in bulk from Kuala Lumpur, repackage them into smaller quantities, and distribute them at drug hotspots.
“The suspects, aged between 29 and 49, were tested for drugs. Two tested positive for methamphetamine.
“Investigations revealed that all four had prior criminal and drug-related records.
“Police believe one of the suspects is the mastermind,” he said here yesterday.
Comm Kumar said the syndicate had been active since May this year.
He said their modus operandi involved using old vehicles as drug stores before distributing the substances to local markets.
Among the seized drugs were 55,904g (55 compressed bricks) of cannabis, 11,795g (26 packages) of heroin, 112.7g of syabu, 21g of Erimin-5 pills, and 70g of Ecstasy pills.
The syndicate also changed tactics by using expensive cars to store drugs, making it more challenging for authorities to track their movements, he added.
“They also move in small groups; if they suspected the authorities were targeting the expensive vehicle, they would switch to using old cars to avoid suspicion,” he said.
All suspects have been remanded for seven days from last Thursday until Oct 2 to assist with investigations.
If convicted, they could face the death penalty or life imprisonment, with the possibility of whipping.
