Police bust ketum juice processing syndicate

Police smashed a gang processing ketum juice when they arrested five men and seized 1,800 packets containing 900,000 millilitre (ml) of the liquid at a house in Taman Iping, Batu Maung, near here during a COVID-19 Movement Control Order (MCO) operation early yesterday (April 19).

Southwest District Police chief Supt A.A Anbalagan said a police mobile patrol vehicle (MPV) conducting Ops COVID-19 found the men, aged between 19 and 25, gathered outside the two-storey house at about 1 am.

“When they failed to give an explanation, police inspected the house and found 1,800 packets of ketum juice as well as various processing utensils, such as two large pots, four gas stoves, five gas cylinders and weighing scales,” he told a press conference here today.

He said investigations found that the syndicate, which obtained its supply of ketum leaves from Kedah, had been processing them at the rented house three times a week for the past two months, raking in up to RM25,000 a week by producing and selling up to 5,000 packets of the juice at RM5 each.

He said the five syndicate members were paid RM100 a day to process the leaves while some of them also served as runners to supply the juice to customers.

“The total amount of ketum juice seized amounted to RM9,000 and all five, including two with previous records, have been remanded for four days to assist in investigations as well as for violating the MCO,” he said.

-- BERNAMA