But the police were not fooled. After a raid in the affluent Perai suburb, the cops crippled a lab believed to be a major producer of ecstasy, seizing over 170kg of assorted party drugs worth RM11.8 million on Monday.

Penang police chief Sahabudin Abd Manan said that after a two-week long surveillance, the large-scale drug processing lab at a house in Taman Sutera Jaya, near Seberang Jaya, was uncovered.

At a press conference in Bukit Mertajam, he revealed that the lab also produced “3-in-1” juice made out of MDMA, a high-end party drug — besides producing regular ecstasy pills sold at RM25 to RM35 each.

Sahabudin said in the raid, two “chemists” were nabbed as they tried to flee in their car, only to crash into a police car.

The lab, which targeted the local market, is believed to have been around since September. Sahabudin said the police later arrested another man, a sibling of one of the two, in Sungai Petani, Kedah. All three men are aged between 30 and 37.

The items seized were: 170,272g of MDMA/ecstasy worth RM10.2 million, 5,000g of MDMA “juice” worth RM108,800, 23,600g of ecstasy pills worth RM1.4 million, 3,500 erimin 5 pills worth RM52,500, 25,000g of caffeine powder worth RM8,500 and 22g of ganja worth RM1,000.

Also seized were 10 litres of pure alcohol, tabletting machines, other paraphernalia worth RM12,000, and six high-end vehicles including a Range Rover.

Sahabudin said other items seized were jewellery and two bank accounts, all valued at RM525,800.

He said the case is being investigated for trafficking under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act which carries the mandatory death penalty.