Drugs worth RM20m seized in apartment
By CHUAH BEE KIM AND BEN TAN
JOHOR'S BIGGEST DRUG HAUL: Cops nab three, including jet-setting couple, seize processing equipment
Police cordoning off the apartment in Jalan Junid, Muar, where drugs worth RM20 million were found hidden in several rooms. Pic by Shaiffulazhar Misri
MUAR: POLICE on a routine narcotics bust stumbled onto a drug laboratory and seized drugs worth RM20 million at a posh apartment yesterday, making it the state's biggest haul this year.
Officers from Johor Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department, who took part in the pre-dawn raid, found drugs, including syabu, heroin, Ecstasy and Eramin 5 pills, hidden in the apartment in Jalan Junid here.
Several drug processing equipment and packing material were also seized.
Police also arrested three people, including a couple, aged between 20 and 50. It was learnt that the couple had been leading a jet-set lifestyle for several months from their ill-gotten gains before the arrest.
Sources close to the investigation said they believed the apartment unit was used to process drugs before they were packed and distributed for consumption in Johor, and other neighbouring states.
"Investigators believe the suspects had been operating for several months and the tight security features of the high-end apartment had bolstered their confidence that their activities would not be detected."
It is learnt that police were still trying to determine the actual value of the drugs seized. They were also trying to identify the mastermind and the extent of the distribution network.
Johor Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department chief, Assistant Commissioner Kamarudin A. Aziz confirmed the incident, but declined to elaborate.
The seizure came three months after another high-profile drug seizure from a laboratory which was partially destroyed in a fire at the Pekan Nenas New Industrial Estate three months ago.
