Johor police chief M Kumar said three men and two women, aged between 28 and 59, were arrested in a special operation involving three separate raids around the city and Seri Alam on July 31.

The syndicate would use terrace houses to store and repack the drugs, even into drink packets, before distributing them to the local market.

“This drug trafficking syndicate is believed to have been active since June, with the drugs brought in from overseas.

“Three of the suspects tested positive for benzodiazepines while two others had previous drug-related criminal records,” Kumar told a press conference at the Johor police headquarters.

Kumar added that 364 packets of ecstasy powder, 95g of ketamine, 3.45g of methamphetamine, 64 ecstasy pills and 540 Erimin 5 pills were seized.

Police also confiscated four cars and a motorcycle, RM75,506 in cash, various foreign currencies as well as jewellery and a watch, with the seizures amounting to RM531,316.

He said all five suspects were under remand for three more days, having been remanded for five days previously.