Federal cops bust ecstasy syndicate with arrest of 7 (Updated)

KUALA LUMPUR: A machine capable of producing 100 ecstasy pills a minute was among the apparatus and ingredients seized by the police in a raid on a drug lab on Monday at Templer Park, Rawang, near here.

Federal Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department deputy director DCP Datuk Kang Chez Chiang said the ecstasy manufacturing lab was in a condominium unit at Templer Park, where police seized ecstasy and other drugs worth RM4.5 million.

"The Special Tactical Intelligence Narcotics Group (STING) conducted five raids in KL, Rawang, Gombak and Karak. Five men and two women aged between 29 and 52 were arrested in the raid between 7.30pm and 10.15pm.

"The 42-year-old mastermind was detained along with his 29-year-old Vietnamese girlfriend along Karak Highway which led police to the location of the mini drug lab," he told reporters at Gombak district police headquarters here today.

He said the other raids were conducted at Jalan Loke Yew here and Taman Setia Jaya in Rawang where the rest of the syndicate members were picked up.

Kang revealed the group were planning to smuggle the drugs to Indonesia as the street value there is three times higher (approximately RM13.5 million) in Aceh, Indonesia.

"Among items seized were laboratory apparatus, 28.1kg of ecstasy powder, 6,690 Yaba pills, 1.6kg of syabu, RM147,000 cash, three cars, a watch, various jewellery and 840,000 Vietnam Dong (approximately RM144).

"These people can process Ecstasy powders into pills and in a minute the machine could process 100 pills," he said, adding that the drugs would have been capable of catering to 145,000 addicts if it got onto the street.

Kang told theSun that each Ecstasy pills has a street price of RM40 each.

"We think the syndicate got their laboratory machines from foreign countries," added Kang.

Police believe that the drugs were smuggled out by air and sea through illegal ports.

The case is being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.