'UNHOLY MARRIAGE': MALAYSIA-BASED TRIAD GANG, INDIAN UNDERWORLD IN DRUG TRADE

By P. Vijian

CHENNAI, Sept 4 (Bernama) -- A Malaysia-based triad society is suspected to
have linked up with the Indian underworld to capture a slice of the flourishing
drug trafficking trade in the region.

This startling exposure comes in the wake of the arrest of a Malaysian man
by Indian police, when he attempted to smuggle out 300kg of ephedrine via
Chennai Port to Malaysia, by faking the contents of the cargo.

The 34-year-old suspect, with a Kuala Lumpur address and unknown occupation,
was picked up by Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) sleuths enroute to boarding a
flight to Malaysia from Chennai last Friday night, after completing his
clandestine operation.

"We found he is a regular visitor to Chennai and was connected to a triad
gang in Kuala Lumpur.

"He must have been working for a bigger network...we have also arrested two
Indian nationals in connection with the case," NCB South Zonal director S.
Davidson Devasirvathan told Bernama Saturday.

Interrogators believe the suspect had procured all consignments locally with
the help of Indian-based drug dealers in Chennai -- which is often used as a
convenient gateway by drug traffickers.

"The suspect had come to Chennai to make a booking of the substance, which
is easily available in India, through an agent.

"The 'master' (suspect's triad gang boss) is in Malaysia," said Davidson,
adding that the ephedrine, filled in 12 drums and discovered at Chennai Port,
was estimated at nearly RM1.5 million (US$3.1) in the black market.

Ephedrine, a stimulant substance widely used in Chinese traditional
medicine,
can also be converted to methamphetamine which is commonly used as 'party
drug' and in great demand in Southeast Asian cities among party-goers.

Davidson said NCB, India's elite drug enforcement agency, would get in
touch
with its Malaysian counterparts soon to unearth more information on the
Malaysian suspect and the Kuala Lumpur-based triad gang.

The suspects are now being held under judicial custody as investigations
are still in progress.

Two months ago, the Directorate of Revenue (DRI), another investigating
agency, arrested four Indians in Chennai, linked to an international racket
involved in trafficking ephedrine.

The ephedrine was smuggled to China, Malaysia and the Philippines.

In India, ephedrine is a controlled substance under the Narcotic Drugs and
Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 and special licence is needed for its export.

-- BERNAMA



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