ALOR STAR, Aug 11 — The Bukit Aman Narcotics Department busted a major drug trafficking syndicate and seized 172kg of ganja after raiding three separate locations in Kedah and Penang over the past two days.

The department’s deputy director DCP Datuk Pahlawan Mohd Dzuraidi Ibrahim said during the raids carried out on Sunday and Monday, eight suspects, including a foreign woman, were detained.

Mohd Dzuraidi said apart from the 172kg ganja which was the biggest drug bust in the country this year (for ganja), 159 Ecstasy pills were also seized.

“The drugs seized are worth RM522,000 thousand,” he told reporters at the Kedah police headquarters, here today.

NUSAJAYA: The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has been urged to block a Facebook page which is actively promoting marijuana or cannabis as a medicinal herb.

Datuk Tengku Putra Haron Aminurrashid Tengku Hamid Jumat (BN-Kempas) said the Facebook administrator used the name MalaysianMedicalMarijuana to inform the public that marijuana was not a dangerous drug but that it possessed high medicinal properties.

"This contradicts the national drug policy where marijuana is cited under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.

KUALA LUMPUR: Police said there was a growing concern that more and more drug users were getting hooked on ganja, which is gaining popularity in the city.

This came after Wangsa Maju police made Kuala Lumpur’s biggest drug bust this year, seizing 37kg of the drug, which is believed to cater to at least 19,000 addicts in the city.

City deputy police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Law Hong Soon said although the drug was viewed as less potent than the more popular syabu, it could lead users to more deadly narcotics later on.

“Its a gateway drug and if there are more addicts hooked on it, that could mean more people would explore dangerous drugs in the future,” he said at the Kuala Lumpur police contingent headquarters.