14 September 2012 | last updated at 12:54AM
Myanmars in drug trade
By NADIRAH H. RODZI | [email protected]
NEW FINDINGS: Majority of foreigners nabbed for offences were small-time pushers
City Narcotics Department chief Assistant Commissioner Wan Abdullah Ishak showing some of the seized drugs. Pic by Effendy Rashid
KUALA LUMPUR: MYANMARS are now the main players in the city's drug trade, according to statistics released by Kuala Lumpur police yesterday.
City Narcotics Department chief Assistant Commissioner Wan Abdullah Ishak said among 393 foreigners arrested from January to August this year, 176 of them were from Myanmar, 51 were Indonesians and 35 were Iranians.
During this period, police seized almost RM32.5 million worth of various drugs from foreign syndicates.
Abdullah said there was a large Myanmar community here, with many centred around the Selayang wholesale market. "Everyone is clamouring for jobs there while others are involved in trade elsewhere, but the lure of easy money from the drug trade is also tempting."
"The Myanmar suspects are mostly small-time pushers but many of them are getting involved in this trade." Abdullah said these small-time pushers operate from places like public toilets, car wash centres, Internet cafes and budget hotels.
Since January, city police have also busted three drug laboratories in Sentul, Brickfields and Dang Wangi, which were mainly operated by Iranians. Police recently arrested a 57-year-old Singaporean man at a fast food outlet in Ampang on Tuesday.
"We had him under surveillance for about a week and when we nabbed him, he had about 1kg of ganja on him. "The drugs were in a tissue box which he was carrying in a plastic bag," Abdullah said.
"When we confronted him, he denied that the plastic bag was his but checks with nearby closed-circuit television camera footages revealed otherwise. We believe he has been working with local syndicates for a while."
Investigations revealed the man had past convictions relating to drug offences in his country.
Myanmars in drug trade
By NADIRAH H. RODZI | [email protected]
NEW FINDINGS: Majority of foreigners nabbed for offences were small-time pushers
City Narcotics Department chief Assistant Commissioner Wan Abdullah Ishak showing some of the seized drugs. Pic by Effendy Rashid
KUALA LUMPUR: MYANMARS are now the main players in the city's drug trade, according to statistics released by Kuala Lumpur police yesterday.
City Narcotics Department chief Assistant Commissioner Wan Abdullah Ishak said among 393 foreigners arrested from January to August this year, 176 of them were from Myanmar, 51 were Indonesians and 35 were Iranians.
During this period, police seized almost RM32.5 million worth of various drugs from foreign syndicates.
Abdullah said there was a large Myanmar community here, with many centred around the Selayang wholesale market. "Everyone is clamouring for jobs there while others are involved in trade elsewhere, but the lure of easy money from the drug trade is also tempting."
"The Myanmar suspects are mostly small-time pushers but many of them are getting involved in this trade." Abdullah said these small-time pushers operate from places like public toilets, car wash centres, Internet cafes and budget hotels.
Since January, city police have also busted three drug laboratories in Sentul, Brickfields and Dang Wangi, which were mainly operated by Iranians. Police recently arrested a 57-year-old Singaporean man at a fast food outlet in Ampang on Tuesday.
"We had him under surveillance for about a week and when we nabbed him, he had about 1kg of ganja on him. "The drugs were in a tissue box which he was carrying in a plastic bag," Abdullah said.
"When we confronted him, he denied that the plastic bag was his but checks with nearby closed-circuit television camera footages revealed otherwise. We believe he has been working with local syndicates for a while."
Investigations revealed the man had past convictions relating to drug offences in his country.
