Malaysian police raid a fentanyl-laced vape network in Kuala Lumpur and seize 2.8 million dollars worth of drugs.

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian authorities have uncovered a dangerous drug distribution network involving vape products laced with synthetic opioids, following a large-scale enforcement operation led by the Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department.

According to Hussein Omar Khan, Director of the Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department (JSJN) at Bukit Aman, said that the action brought together 1,177 JSJN officers and 2,011 people from different agencies, such as the Ministry of Health Malaysia, the National Anti-Drugs Agency, and local governments.

The crackdown showed that furanyl fentanyl, a very strong synthetic drug, is now being sold in businesses through vape liquids, which is very bad for public health.

During a raid in Taman Bukit Cheras on April 13, police arrested three suspects, two Malaysians and one foreigner between the ages of 23 and 31. The police took nine white bottles with 16.8 kilograms of liquid that they thought was mixed with furanyl fentanyl.

Following up on the first arrests, two more people, aged 22 and 25, were caught at a vape shop in Taman Mastiara, Sentul. Investigators found 155 vape cartridges with about 1.7 kg of what they think is drug-infused liquid inside them, as well as 22 bags of MDMA powder that together weighed 0.66 kg.

The police found 18.56 kg of furanyl fentanyl, which is worth about RM2.8 million on the black market. The suspects are thought to have had many jobs in the distribution chain, such as shopkeepers, storekeepers, owners, and workers.

This is because of Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952. All five suspects have been held until April 24.

As part of the larger operation, police teams checked out 1,670 vape shops across the country and found 728 that were not following the rules. Twenty people were caught, and 8,091 vape devices, 5,257.7 cartridges, and 19.67 kg of drugs were taken away by the police.

186.54 kg of non-drug vape products worth RM4.6 million were also taken away. The Malaysian Ministry of Health has started 487 investigations, sent compliance warnings to 142 businesses, shut down five stores, and fined 1,149 others.

Officials say that the rise of fentanyl-laced vape goods is a worrying change in how drugs are distributed, making things harder to police and putting more at risk people who don’t know what’s going on.