KAJANG, MALAYSIA – Malaysian police seized over 6 tonnes of drugs worth RM1.04 billion (S$330 million) in raids across Selangor and Kuala Lumpur on December 21, crippling an international syndicate and unearthing an unexpected scam call centre in the process.
Bukit Aman Narcotics Crime Investigation Department director Commissioner Datuk Hussein Omar Khan revealed the twin discoveries during a briefing at Semenyih police station on Friday. “We detained 14 suspects during the raid… We believe the drug syndicate was also moonlighting as a scam syndicate,” he told reporters. “We never expected to uncover a scam operation as well.” The suspects were transferred to the Commercial Crime Investigation Department.
The operation targeted remnants of a syndicate first hit on December 16 under Ops Gaharu, where drugs valued at RM1.53 billion were confiscated and six arrests made. This week’s strikes at Selesa Jaya Industrial Park in Seri Kembangan and an industrial area in Kepong yielded 6.1 tonnes of liquid MDMA, 20.3kg of cocaine, and 1.3kg of ketamine, enough to supply 20.7 million users, plus drug-processing equipment.
Investigators pinpoint the syndicate’s mastermind to an eastern country, still at large, with Malaysia serving as a processing hub for exports to Hong Kong, Australia, and beyond. Police plan to enlist Interpol and overseas partners to hunt remaining members, believed to number over 12 and active since January.
Across both raid waves, authorities nabbed 24.7 tonnes of drugs worth RM2.6 billion from 14 sites, four factories and 10 residences rented at RM6,000–10,000 monthly and staffed by hired local coordinators. “This is arguably the biggest syndicate we have busted,” Hussein declared, highlighting its industrial-scale organization.