GEORGE TOWN: A woman and her three children, who just returned home from tarawih prayers, were shocked when they were detained by police over a drug case in Bayan Lepas near here.
The four suspects, including a teenage boy, were nabbed at a house in Jalan Mahkamah during an operation that began last night and ended early this morning.
State deputy police chief Datuk Mohamed Usuf Jan Mohamad said the arrest came following the detaining of the woman's husband and his friend at the same house earlier.
He said police seized 139.5kg of ganja worth about RM432,614 in the operation.
"Checks at the rented kampung house led to the discovery of five sacks filled with 133 slabs of ganja, a plastic bag filled with five slabs of ganja and a box containing 83 transparent packets filled with dried leaves, believed to be ganja, weighing 0.6kg.
"The main suspect is the 49-year-old husband, his male friend, aged 25, his wife, aged 48, his two daughters, aged 19 and 29, and his 15-year-old son.
"The man's teenage son is not attending school," he told a press conference at the state contingent police headquarters here today.
Usuf said initial investigations found that the syndicate had been active since June last year.
"Police also seized three vehicles, including a Proton Iswara and two motorcycles, a Yamaha Y15 and Honda Dash, all worth RM11,500.
"The total seizure, including the drugs, amounted toRM444,114."
He said the seized drugs could have gone to 280,000 drug users.
The case is being probed under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
In a separate development, Usuf said in January and February, the state Criminal Investigation Department launched four Op Cantas Mega, targetting former criminals and wanted suspects.
He said 253 raids were conducted in Penang, Kedah and Perlis, with 245 people nabbed.
"A total of 115 local men, 60 local women, 53 foreign men and 17 foreign women were detained, aged 18 to 64.
"They were detained for various offences."
