POLICE arrested a wireman, who acted as a transporter, and seized almost 160kg of syabu worth more than RM5 million in Bandar Cassia, Batu Kawan yesterday.

Penang police chief Khaw Kok Chin said the 34-year-old man was nabbed at 12.50pm following a public tip-off and intelligence carried out by a team from the Seberang Perai Selatan Narcotics Crime Investigation Division.

“Police received information about drug distribution activities in the Bandar Cassia area before conducting an observation of the business area there and found a Honda HRV vehicle had been left unattended in suspicious circumstances in a parking lot,” he told a press conference in George Town today.

“While monitoring the situation, police saw a Perodua Bezza car, driven by the wireman, approaching the parking lot before transferring several sacks from the Honda HRV into his car.”

He said police approached the two vehicles and the wireman tried to flee but was detained.

He said upon inspecting the two vehicles, police found six sacks containing 150 plastic packets of Chinese tea but believed to contain syabu weighing 157.185kg worth RM5.187 million.

Khaw said preliminary investigations found that members of a drug trafficking syndicate had brought in the drug from Thailand by road to Bandar Cassia using the rented Honda HRV.

“The wireman driving the Perodua Bezza, which was also rented, had come from the Klang Valley to collect the syabu,” he said.

“The suspect is believed to have carried out such activities several times and was paid up to RM5,000 each time he travelled to Penang to collect the drugs. Police are trying to trace the drug syndicate’s network.” – Bernama, October 4, 2023.