POLICE DETAIN 15 IRANIANS BELIEVED TO BE MEMBERS OF A DRUG SYNDICATE

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 26 (Bernama) -- Police detained 15 Iranian nationals who
are believed to be the mastermind of a drug smuggling syndicate which is active
in the Klang Valley, including having a mini laboratorary to process drugs,
following monitoring and intelligence carried out for the past five months.

Bukit Aman Narcotics Investigation Department Director, Noor Rashid
Ibrahim said the suspects, aged between 20 and 40 including two women, were
detained in several raids between Jan 18 and 23 in the Klang Valley.

"Police also seized 78.7 kg of Methamphetamine drugs or syabu worth RM15.7
million (US$5.14 million) during the six-day raid," he told reporters at his
office, here Tuesday.

He said that overall, police detained 32 Iranian nationals this month, all
of whom were linked to drug trafficking, where 115.9kg of syabu worth about RM23
million was seized.

"We believe that all of them are possibly members of the same drug syndicate
and have been operating for a long time in this country with the focus on the
Klang Valley.

"The drugs were smuggled in from abroad and processed in this country based
on the discovery of the mini laboratory," he added.