Police uncover drug syndicate in Johor, two Vietnamese women among arrested

The Star

23-06-2025

JOHOR BARU: Police have arrested three suspects, including two female Vietnamese nationals, and seized over RM6mil worth of drugs during a raid at a housing area in Taman Mutiara Rini here.
Johor police chief Comm Datuk M. Kumar stated that the state police narcotics department, along with Bukit Aman, launched a special operation encompassing two raid locations from 7.30pm on June 14 until 5am on June 15.
'In the first case, police carried out a raid at a double-storey terrace house, which led to the arrest of a 45-year-old local male and a 34-year-old woman, who is a Vietnamese national.
'Further checks found that the male suspect has been renting the house since April 2023. Besides the arrest, police also found an assortment of drugs at the first location,' he added.
Comm Kumar said this in a press conference held at Johor police headquarters here on Monday (June 23).
He also said that the male suspect subsequently guided the police to another double-storey terrace house, which was also rented by the syndicate, situated approximately a kilometre away from the initial location.
'Following the suspect's guidance, the police subsequently conducted a second raid, resulting in the arrest of another 23-year-old Vietnamese woman.
'All three suspects tested positive for drugs while further checks found all three suspects have no prior criminal records against them,' he added.
Comm Kumar said that the police seized 40.6kg of ecstasy powder, 1.3kg of ketamine, and 368g of ganja from two locations, valued at over RM6.8mil.
He added that besides the drugs, police also seized two cars, RM49,150 and SGD2,580 (RM8,835) in cash respectively, and various jewellery worth more than RM17,600.
'This brings the total value of all the seized items to more than RM7.1mil. Initial investigation found that the syndicate has been using the two houses for processing and packaging as well as storing the drugs.
Comm Kumar said the three suspects were under remand until this Thursday (June 26) to assist with the investigations, as police believe there are other individuals involved in the syndicate.
He added that the case was being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drug Act 1952 and Section 6(3) of the Immigration Act 1959/63.
'The success of this operation is due to the close cooperation between the Johor police narcotics department and Bukit Aman, including public information,' he said.
Comm Kumar urged the public to continue relaying information on any criminal activities, including drug trafficking, by contacting the state police hotline number at 07-2212999.