A 31-year-old Singaporean man who is allegedly a drug syndicate mastermind in Johor could face the death penalty for drug trafficking, along with his 38-year-old Malaysian girlfriend.

Brayden Ong and Wang Wei Qing (transliteration) were arrested as part of a police raids conducted in Johor and Iskandar Puteri on Aug. 17 to bust a drug trafficking and processing syndicate, Malaysian media reported.

More than S$603,000 of drugs seized: Police

Johor police chief Comm M. Kumar said the pair had been using a terrace house in one of the city's affluent neighbourhoods as a drug processing laboratory for the past three months, The Star reported.

The man, 31, believed to be the mastermind of the syndicate, was arrested at a house in Eko Flora, while his lover, 38, was arrested by the roadside in Setia Indah, The Malay Mail reported.

Police raided two premises linked to the couple and seized more than RM2 million (S$603,332) of drugs, including 3.6kg of ecstasy powder, 20.2 litres of liquid ecstasy, seven erimin 5 pills, 42 ecstasy pills, 40 nitrazepam pills and 2.6kg of methamphetamine.

Both tested positive for drugs upon their arrest.

“Their modus operandi was trafficking the drugs in small quantities using runners to avoid detection by police,” Kumar said about the syndicate.

Kumar added that police are tracking down the remaining members of the gang.

Could face death penalty for drug trafficking

Ong and Wang were charged with multiple drug-related offences in a Johor court on Aug. 29 (Thursday), according to China Press.

Ong faced four charges related to drug trafficking. Wang faced six such charges.

The charges they are facing include trafficking 2,667g of methamphetamine and 457.10g of MDMA (ecstasy).

If convicted of drug trafficking, they could face life imprisonment or the death penalty.

Ong could also face up to five lashes of the cane.

The two have also pleaded guilty to two additional charges relating to drug possession.

They admitted to possessing 1.85g of nimetazepam and 2,240ml of MDMA liquid.

The judge has set their next hearing date on Oct. 29, pending their laboratory test results.

Top image from China Press