Cops looking into claim that Indian drug lord is Malaysian

PETALING JAYA: The Royal Malaysia Police is seeking more information from the Indian authorities regarding allegations by a senior investigative journalist that an “Indian drug kingpin” is a Malaysian citizen.

According to Sinar Harian, Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Razarudin Husain said so far, police have not received any information on it.

He said checks with the Bukit Aman Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department (NCID) database also found that the names of suspects arrested by the Narcotics Control Board (NCB) of India on Saturday (March 9) were not involved in drug trafficking here.

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“Currently, NCID does not have any bilateral relationship with the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) of India and any communication is conducted through Interpol and the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA),” he said on Tuesday (March 12).

Razarudin said police here placed great emphasis on international cooperation in fighting drug trafficking, as seen through Malaysia’s involvement with international agencies such as the United Nations Office on Crime and Drugs (UNODC), the DEA and the Australian Federal Police (AFP).

Indian journalist A. Shankar, a former police officer, made the claim while commenting on the case of politician and Tamil film producer Jaffer Sadiq (pic), who was linked to a RM1.13bil drug bust by the NCB.

In an interview, Shankar noted that the syndicate has links in Malaysia, New Zealand and Australia.

“Since they (NCB) mentioned Malaysia, let me give you a clue. Jaffer’s boss is in Malaysia. He is very influential in the Indian cinema industry.

“He is the one who controls Jaffer. This Malaysian has close ties with numerous celebrities in the Tamil film industry. If he is arrested, many players in the Tamil film industry will be implicated,” said Shankar, without disclosing a name.

On Feb 25, Tamil Nadu’s ruling party DMK sacked Jaffer after the allegations surfaced.