MELAKA: The Melaka police have busted the 'Abang 888' drug syndicate after arresting an Indonesian man and seizing 40 kilogrammes (kg) of drugs believed to be methamphetamine worth RM1.44 million in a raid at a homestay in Pantai Puteri here on Nov 18.

Melaka police chief Datuk Abdul Majid Mohd Ali said the 39 year-old man, who entered the country three years ago to work as a labourer, was detained in a raid by the Melaka contingent police headquarters Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department (NCID) around 8 pm.

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

"We believe the 'Abang 888' 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 from Indonesia, who would use a boat to smuggle out the drugs," he told reporters at a press conference here today.

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.

The police had been monitoring the syndicate's movements for the past three months to identify its network and they were believed to be actively using Melaka as a drug distribution transit point since a month ago.

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

Meanwhile, the Melaka police had seized drugs worth RM13.16 million since the start of the year till Nov 20 compared to RM487,283.35 last year, he said.

"The increase in the drug haul in Melaka does not mean that the drug problem in the state has gone unchecked but the simply showed 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 work compared to the existing conventional method.

-- BERNAMA