Drug-processing syndicate chief with 30-year record shot dead

A suspected drug syndicate leader with more than three decades of experience in producing illegal substances was shot dead during a police raid in Seremban 2, Malaysian authorities said.

The 52-year-old local man allegedly opened fire when officers from the Bukit Aman Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department raided a terraced house in Garden Homes at about 1:30 p.m. The house was believed to have been used as a drug-processing laboratory. Police returned fire, and the man was later pronounced dead at the scene.

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During the raid, the suspect acted aggressively by firing at the Bukit Aman JSJN raiding team.

Authorities identified him as an active and dangerous syndicate leader who possessed a firearm. They said he had been involved in drug-related crime since the 1990s and had previously been arrested three times under Section 39B of Malaysia’s Dangerous Drugs Act 1952. He was also wanted in connection with a kidnapping case.

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To defend themselves, the raiding team had to fire at the suspect before he was found unconscious, and the hospital confirmed that he had died at the scene.

The raid uncovered 182.39 kilograms of suspected MDMA in liquid, crystal, pill and powder forms. Police estimated the haul’s value at about 27.5 million ringgit and also seized processing equipment and a revolver. Two further raids in Seremban 2 and Tropicana Residence in Kuchai Lama, Kuala Lumpur, led to the arrests of a local woman and man aged between 32 and 35. No drugs were found at those locations, but investigators said the pair helped with processing and distribution for local and foreign markets.

Police said the syndicate had operated since January from low-density residential areas to conceal its activities. The terraced house had reportedly been rented for about a year. Investigators believe the main suspect obtained precursor chemicals from abroad, with help from other syndicate members, including contacts in an eastern country. Initial urine screening found that both arrested suspects tested positive for methamphetamine.

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This suspect was a highly active and dangerous syndicate leader who possessed a firearm.