KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 — Police believed they have busted an international drug syndicate with the arrest of seven of its members in six raids in the Klang Valley, where 4.9kg of syabu worth RM900,000 were seized.

Bukit Aman Narcotic Crimes Investigation Department director Datuk Noor Rashid Ibrahim said the seven suspects comprised three Nigerian men, three Uganda women and a local man, aged between 22 and 42.

The raids were mounted between Feb 20 and yesterday. Noor Rashid said the syndicate's modus operandi was to smuggle the drug through express mail and courier services by hiding it inside personal items and gadgets, including a DVD player.

 “The syndicate smuggled the drug in small quantity to prevent it from being detected by the authority, it was done quite often.

 “The three Nigerian men are students at a private college in the Klang Valley, but further investigations are being done,” he told a press conference here today.

Meanwhile, he said the department had arrested 33,702 individuals believed to be involved in drug trafficking in the first two months this year, compared to 30,293 individuals arrested in the corresponding period last year.

It is an increase of 11 per cent, he said. — Bernama