Penang cops bust drug syndicate masterminded by security guards
KEPALA BATAS: Penang police have taken down a drug trafficking syndicate masterminded by shopping centre security guards who used their workplace to store their stash.
Seberang Perai Utara (SPU) district police chief ACP Noorzainy Mohd Noor said in five raids over the weekend, police arrested six men and seized 39,892 yaba pills worth RM398,500.
This was after two-week surveillance by SPU and Seberang Perai Tengah (SPT) police narcotic teams in both districts.
Police first arrested two men aged 25 and 41 in Permatang Sungai Dua at 6 pm on Saturday and seized 142 yaba pills before arresting a 40-year-old man in Jalan Sungai Dua who had with him 350 yaba pills, Noorzainy said.
“On the same day at 10 pm, police detained a security guard aged 58 in Perai Jaya, Butterworth and seized 400 yaba pills from him,” he told a media conference yesterday.
Those arrests led police to another raid at a shopping centre in Perai Jaya at 11pm, and there they arrested another security guard before seizing 39,000 yaba pills that had been hidden in the ceiling of the premises.
Noorzainy said police then moved on to flat unit in Perai Jaya at 1am on Sunday and arrested another man aged 45, who worked as the chief security guard of the shopping centre and the brains behind the syndicate.
“Preliminary investigations found that they got their drug supply from other syndicates before hiding them in the ceilings of the shopping centre. They distribute their stash to their clients at the shopping centre itself and also at entertainment centres around the state,” he said.
Police now are looking for remaining members of the syndicate, he said, while adding that all six suspects have previous drug records as well as tested positive for drug use.
Meanwhile, Noorzainy said police are looking for two men identified as A. Selvarajoo, 56, and T. Vijayakumar, 57, both whose last known address is Jalan Berlian Satu, Bagan Ajam near here, to appear as witnesses at the High Court in Georgetown for a drug-related case.
“Police have so far failed to locate both of them and they are needed to attend the hearing in July. Those who know them or have information on them are urged to contact Insp Muhamad Izwan Alias at 04-55762222 or their nearest police stations,” he said. — Bernama
