MELAKA: A drug trafficking syndicate known as "Abang 888" has been smashed with the arrest of an Indonesian man and the seizure of 40kg of drugs, believed to be methamphetamine, worth RM1.44mil.

       Melaka police chief Datuk Abdul Majid Mohd Ali said the arrest and seizure were made in a raid on a homestay in Pantai Puteri here on Nov 18.

       He said the 39 year-old suspect, who entered the country three years ago to work as a labourer, was detained in the 8pm raid by the Melaka contingent police headquarters Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department (NCID).

       He said the drugs were disguised as packs of tea to avoid detection and placed in two bags that the suspect brought along during his stay at the homestay.

       "We believe the syndicate was involved in cross-border and cross-district drug smuggling activities, using Melaka as a transit point before smuggling the drugs out of the country using sea routes.

       "When the raid occurred, the suspect was waiting for a transporter, believed to be from Indonesia, who would use a boat to smuggle the drugs,” he told a press conference here on Monday (Nov 22).

       He said the suspect tested negative for drugs and has been remanded for seven days from Nov 19 to facilitate investigations under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.

       Police had been monitoring the syndicate’s movements for the past three months to identify its network and believed it had been using Melaka as a distribution and transit point for about a month.

       Abdul Majid also noted that there had been a change in trends by drug smugglers in Melaka as they were now recruiting foreigners instead of locals as agents or drug mules.

       On a related note, he said Melaka police had seized drugs worth RM13.16mil from the beginning of the year until Saturday (Nov 20) compared to RM487,283.35 for the corresponding priod last year.

       "The increase in the drug haul does not mean that the drug problem in the state has gone unchecked but simply shows the effectiveness of our drug enforcement activities carried out to eradicate drug abuse,” he said.

       He added that the approach to curb drug trafficking has changed to focus on movement on the ground and an increase in intelligence gathering compared to previous methods. – Bernama