KUALA LUMPUR: Police have arrested eight men and seized RM366 million worth of assets and properties linked to a drug syndicate in an operation, dubbed 'Ops Eagle Diamond', on Jan 16.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador said police have busted the syndicate in a raid in Butterworth, Penang last year.
The follow up operation this month was to identify and seize all assets belonging to the main suspect in the syndicate.
"The Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department team has successfully seized RM6,960 in cash, another RM21.68 million in an account, RM143 million worth of shares, properties worth RM198 million, various types of vehicles worth RM2.7 million and jewellery worth of RM51,800.
“These will be investigated under Sections 3 and 4 of the Dangerous Drugs (Forfeiture of Property) Act 1988,” he told a press conference after the launch of the Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department’s theme song and corporate video at the Royal Malaysia Police College here today.
Police had also seized 4.98kg of syabu, 114.6kg of chemical liquids and powders, and equipments to process syabu worth about RM250,000 following the operation at a warehouse in the Seberang Prai Industrial Estate in Penang.
Hamid said eight men comprising two Malaysians, five Myanmar and one Chinese citizen aged 51 to 33 were arrested.
He said the men did not possess any criminal record.
They were initially remanded for a week since Jan 16 before having their remand period extended to Thursday (Jan 30).
When elaborating on the case, Hamid said the main suspect or "King Pin", who is from Penang, had fled to another country after the first 'Ops Eagle Diamond' operation was conducted last year.
He said police were now cooperating with their counterparts of the country to nab the main suspect.
"With our good relationship with international enforcement agencies, we are confident in tracking down the main suspect.
"We believe the main suspect had been involved in the drug business for a very long time. That’s why the amount of money seized in last year’s operation was one of the biggest in the country's history.
"We have been monitoring the main suspect's whereabouts for about a month now."
On a separate matter, Hamid said he will continue pursuing the case of Indira Gandhi, who is seeking to be reunited with her daughter who had been taken away by her ex-husband after the girl was unilaterally converted to Islam.
He said this when asked to comment on Indira’s plan to sue Hamid for RM100 million for failure to find her daughter.
Hamid said the police was still working hard to solve the case and will do so until there was a "happy ending" for all those involved in the case.
On the upcoming suit againts him, he said he would look into what Indira sought.
"I will have to see what are the things that she wants to sue me for. I will reach out to the Home Ministry as well as Attorney-General for further response.
"Personally, I still keep tabs on this case and I will solve this until both (parents) are satisfied. It's not about reconciliation, but to protect the child's welfare," he said.