The Malacca police were certainly not in the mood for iced tea when they seized 52kg of syabu ("ice") concealed in tea bags from an ice storage box during two raids in Malim last Saturday.

The seizure of the drug worth about RM3.7 million also saw the police arrest five men and three women who were suspected members of a drug trafficking syndicate to facilitate investigations. They were aged between 20 and 31.

Apart from the syabu, 33g of ketamine and an ecstasy tablet were also found at one of the houses during the raids which were mounted between 2.30am and 6.30pm.

Bukit Aman Narcotics CID (NCID) director Mohmad Salleh said all the drugs were found hidden in an ice storage box.

“The syabu was concealed in tea packets to avoid detection by the authorities and it is estimated the drug could be used by about 260,000 addicts," he told reporters at a press conference today.

Also present were NCID deputy director Kang Chez Chiang and Malacca police chief Abdul Jalil Hassan.

Mohmad said the police also seized two cars and a motorcycle, as well as cash and jewellery worth more than RM10,000.

He said initial investigations revealed the syabu could be sold at RM70,000 per kg.

“Four of the eight suspects have previous criminal records and tested positive for drugs,” he added.

The suspects have been remanded for a week until Feb 24 to facilitate investigations under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 which carries the mandatory death sentence upon conviction.

- Bernama