JOHOR BARU, Aug 5 — The police crippled a south Johor-based drug trafficking syndicate that specialised in distributing illicit drugs in entertainment centres, following several raids in the Seri Alam district as well as city centre here last week.
The police arrested 26 suspects and seized more than RM700,000 worth of drugs and property from the drug trafficking syndicate, known as the Bobby gang, as a result of 10 raids carried out last week.
Johor police chief Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said the first raid was conducted by the Seri Alam district police on an entertainment centre in Permas Jaya, near the city centre here.
He said that in the 1.30am operation, the police arrested three local men, five local women as well as two foreign women.
“Based on the interrogation of the suspects, investigators uncovered a drug syndicate masterminded by a 27-year-old local man named Bobby and his Vietnamese girlfriend.
“Further probes also led investigators to a Chinese woman who was one of the syndicate’s drug dealers operating around the Taman Century area in the city.
“As a result of the first raid, the police conducted four other follow-up operations in the Pasir Gudang, Permas Jaya, Seri Alam and Iskandar Puteri districts, while five more raids were carried out around the city,” said Ayob Khan during a press conference at the Johor police contingent headquarters here today.
In the series of raids, police arrested a total of 24 suspects, aged between 16 and 61. The suspects consist of 11 local men, five local women, one Singaporean man, three Indonesian women, two Chinese women and two Vietnamese women.
The raids also saw the police seizing 1.89kg of ketamine, 2.3kg of ecstasy powder, 895.52 grams of marijuana, 2,469 ecstasy pills, 859 Erimin 5 pills, 31.81 grams of syabu, 2.01 grams of heroin and two Yaba pills worth RM425,571.
The police also seized various jewellery worth RM32,956 and two vehicles valued at RM214,000, as well as cash worth RM7,000, US$500 (RM2,100), 6,000 Yuan (RM3,625) and S$420 (RM1,287), in addition to five local bank accounts amounting to RM30,234 from drug-trafficking activities.
Ayob Khan said the total amount of drugs and property seized was estimated to be valued at RM712,452.
He said out of the 26 suspects arrested, 19 tested positive for drugs with eight suspects, including the Singaporeans, having previous drug-related criminal records in the country and the republic.
“The suspects have been remanded for 14 days starting July 27,” said Ayob Khan.
The suspects are being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 together with six other offences related to drugs, immigration and local authority by-laws.
