: Police detained 11 men, including six foreigners, and seized ecstasy and syabu (methamphetamine) worth over RM20 million in two raids at a factory and a house in Penang, both of which were being used to process the drugs, on Friday.
The simultaneous operation conducted by personnel from the Federal Police (Bukit Aman) and Kedah Narcotics Criminal Investigation Departments at 5am crippled the international drug syndicate.
Bukit Aman Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Noor Rashid Ibrahim said police detained five men, comprising a Dutch who was the ring leader, two from Singapore and one each from France and Britain in the raid at the factory located in the Mergong Industrial Park here.
He said another British national was arrested along with four locals around the city following the raid in Mergong.
"Another local man was detained at a house in Penang which also served as a drug processing laboratory, but it was not as big as the one in Alor Setar (at the factory)," he told a news conference at the Kedah police Headquarters here today.
Noor Rashid said the suspects, aged between 24 and 60, were being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries the mandatory death sentence upon conviction.
In the two raids, police also confiscated 240 litres of a liquid believed to be ecstasy in liquid form, 34kg of syabu, safrole precursor material, acetone and other liquid chemicals besides drug processing equipment.
"Police also seized four cars including two Mercedes Benz, a Toyota and a Tata, local currency and currency from Singapore, Europe, Cambodia and Thailand amounting to RM39,000," he added.
He said police believed the drugs were for the local market but investigations on the case were still ongoing.
"The foreigners entered Malaysia using a Social Visit Pass and our initial investigations revealed that they had no criminal records," he said.
He added that they had the suspects under surveillance for several months prior to the raid, which was Kedah state's biggest in terms of value and involvement of foreigners.
