PENANG police detained seven men and seized 840.729kg of cannabis worth RM2.1 million in a series of raids in Penang and Perak on Thursday. 

Penang police chief Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said the special operation by the Bukit Aman and Penang Narcotics Crime Investigation Departments was carried out based on tip-offs, coupled with information from the police intelligence network. 

“Three men were nabbed at 6.45am after their car was stopped at the Bagan Ajam Toll Plaza, Butterworth, near George Town. The arrest led to the seizure of 479.729kg of cannabis worth RM1.1 million, which was hidden in a car parked at the Bukit Jambul parking lot, about 25 minutes later,” he told a press conference in George Town today. 

He said police also stopped a car at the Changkat Jering toll plaza in Perak at 7.44am and arrested three other men. 

Shuhaily said checks on a car parked at Persiaran Mahsuri, Bayan Baru, Penang, at 2pm led to the seizing of 10 plastic sacks of cannabis weighing 361kg. 

In a subsequent raid at a house in Air Itam in Penang, another man was arrested. 

“Preliminary investigations found that cannabis of various grades, including the best quality, is believed to have been brought in from neighbouring countries for the local market. The syndicate has been carrying out these activities since the beginning of last year,” he said.

The seven suspects – including a civil servant, an engineer, a computer technician, and an online trader, aged between 24 and 29 – have been remanded for a week to facilitate investigations under section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952. – Bernama, January 23, 2023.