GEORGE TOWN: Penang police foiled an outbound syabu trafficking syndicate with the arrest of six men, including three foreigners, in two separate raids on Monday.
About 100 packs of syabu, worth RM3.87 million, which were packed in tea packets, were confiscated inside a boat at a fish landing jetty at Sungai Acheh, in the southwest district.
State police chief Datuk Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said, following a week-long surveillance, a police team raided the fish landing jetty at 2.30pm on Monday where they nabbed five men, including the foreigners, aged between 30 and 55.
"Checks inside the boat led to the recovery of the 100 packs of syabu, weighing about 107.5kg. We believe the drugs were outbound to a neighbouring country.
"Currently, syabu is fetching a high price in the neighbouring country, which explains why the drugs are being smuggled there," he told reporters at the state police headquarters here this afternoon.
Shuhaily said, in a follow-up raid at a house in Bukit Tambun in the Seberang Prai Selatan district, police nabbed another local man to assist in police investigation.
Besides the drugs, police also seized two cars, two motorcycles and RM1,000 cash, bringing the total seizure to RM3.887 million.
Initial investigations revealed the syndicate had only been active since the beginning of this month, he said.
Shuhaily added that should the drugs find their way into the open market, they could cater to about 537,500 addicts.
The urine test of all the six men, believed to be working as labourers, came back negative for drugs.
Only one of them has a prior record for an immigration offence.
All six are currently under a seven-day remand to assist investigation into the case, classified under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drug Act 1952 for trafficking.