Kuala lumpur: Intelligence operations to uncover illicit drug laboratories demand a lengthy process, spanning months or even up to a year, as stated by Bukit Aman Narcotics Crime Investigation Department (NCID) director Datuk Hussein Omar Khan. This extensive timeframe is crucial to ensure that an entire syndicate network is identified before raids and arrests are executed.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the intelligence phase is vital for tracing the movement of precursor chemicals from their entry into the country through various transit locations, identifying involved individuals, and determining the substances produced. Datuk Hussein emphasized the importance of following these chemicals from entry points like Port Klang to their final destinations, to ensure the successful identification of illicit drug labs and associated individuals before taking action.
Premature actions, Hussein noted, could result in the arrest of only a few individuals, such as transporters, without uncovering the actual lab or the entire syndicate network. He highlighted the success of a recent operation in Puncak Alam, Selangor, where intelligence allowed the police to uncover a drug lab and detain most syndicate members. During this operation, a suspect's aggressive behavior led to a confrontation where the suspect was fatally shot by police.
Hussein also underscored that the duration of such operations can vary based on factors like the size of industrial areas, movements of targeted individuals, and safety risk levels. The complexity of tracing individuals and locations within vast industrial areas poses a significant challenge, he explained. Furthermore, considerations about safety risks, such as the presence of hazardous materials or the syndicate's potential firepower, are essential to avoid untoward incidents during raids.
BERNAMA reported that a recent operation, under Ops Eumenes, led to the dismantling of a drug processing and trafficking syndicate with seizures valued at an estimated RM2.4 billion. This operation uncovered an illicit lab in Puncak Alam and resulted in the detention of three local men, as well as a foreign man and woman, across six separate raids in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.