What, the North Americans don’t get high enough off their legal weed?
The Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) intercepted a staggering 2.8 tonnes of ketum powder from a shophouse in George Town, Penang yesterday, while it was being prepped for shipment to customers in the United States and Canada.
Penang police chief Abdul Ghafar Rajab told Pradeep Nambiar of the New Straits Times Online that authorities believe the syndicate behind the ketum operation had been in business for the past six years, working from the same makeshift factory in Jalan Dato Keramat.
When police raided the storefront, the refined ketum powder was being packed into 1kg packets to be shipped off to their overseas recipients.
“We have arrested a 33-year-old Bangladeshi worker during our swoop on the outlet at noon yesterday. He was the only one in the outlet at the time of the raid,” Abdul Ghafar said at a press conference in George Town.
“Based on consignment notes found, they have been using air mail to deliver their products to various countries, especially North America.”
Ketum leaves have provided local drug addicts with a cheaper and more accessible alternative to marijuana for decades. When boiled in water, the leaves produce a mildly hallucinogenic “tea” that provides a quick high.
Ketum, or “kratom” as it is known elsewhere in the world, has apparently become more popular in Western markets, with niche websites offering mail-order deliveries to customers. Supplies invariably come from our part of the world, as the plant is indigenous to many Southeast Asian countries.
