Malaysian police smash cross-border drug ring, seize US$1 million of meth disguised as tea

Malaysian police have crippled a cross-border drug syndicate with the seizure of 86.2kg of methamphetamine worth 4.31 million ringgit (US$1 million) in Penang and Selangor.The bust resulted from intelligence sharing between Malaysian and Thai police after Thai authorities seized 166kg (370lbs) of suspected methamphetamine from a Malaysian man in Hua Hin on August 8.Penang police chief Dennis Lim Kwang Keng said the information led to Ops Zoraptera, resulting in the arrest of four suspects – three Malaysian men and a Thai woman aged between 19 and 25. The Thai woman is the wife of one of the Malaysian suspects, and both were charged in the case.Lim said Malaysian police arrested the four suspects in Selangor on August 13. The following day, police seized a luxury sedan near Hotel Aroma in Butterworth, Penang, and found 83 packets disguised as tea bags containing 86.2kg of methamphetamine concealed in the vehicle.Lim said the syndicate also modified vehicles with hidden compartments to transport the drugs. “Each person involved in transporting a shipment was paid 6,000 ringgit per trip,” he said at a press conference in George Town on Tuesday.Malaysian and Thai police show off the seized drugs, disguised as tea bags, in George Town on Tuesday. Photo: The StarPolice also seized five vehicles worth 420,700 ringgit, bringing the total value of the Malaysian seizure to 4.73 million ringgit.Lim said the syndicate was believed to have been active since June and the drugs were intended for the local market and possibly overseas.The first three suspects were charged at the Butterworth Magistrate’s Court on Thursday under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 (Act 234), while the fourth was made a prosecution witness. One suspect tested positive for ketamine in a preliminary urine test, while none had previous criminal records.The 86.2kg seizure in Malaysia, combined with the separate 166kg seizure in Thailand, totalled 252.2kg of methamphetamine confiscated through the operations.The case is being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries the death penalty or life imprisonment and whipping of not less than 12 strokes upon conviction.Present during the press conference were police officers from the Bukit Aman Narcotics Crime Investigation Department and the Thailand" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="197805" data-entity-type="organization">Police Narcotics Suppression Bureau of Thailand.This article was first published by The StarFurther Reading