Malaysian police have arrested a Singaporean man known as Boy Setan (Devil Boy), suspected of being involved in trafficking drugs into Singapore using a drone.

Johor police chief Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay revealed on Monday that Boy Setan was 40-year-old Mohamad Azli Ahmad Said. Describing him as brazen, Datuk Ayob said Azli had allegedly flown a drone with drugs from Johor Baru city centre into Singapore. Malaysian police did not disclose when he had done this or what the drugs were.

Yesterday, the police chief told The Straits Times: "He has been arrested and will be interrogated."

A source with the police told ST that Azli was arrested at a condominium unit in Johor Baru.

Mr Ayob told reporters on Monday: "He came here once in a while to smuggle drugs and went back (to Singapore), but with the recovery movement control order, his movement is limited."

Azli has allegedly been in Malaysia for the past three months. His mother, who gave her name as Madam Zainab, told ST yesterday she knew it was just a matter of time before he was arrested.

He had been convicted for gang and drug-related offences before. "I was always worried and I told him to stay away from trouble," she said, adding that she last saw him about a year ago.

Azli is believed to be associated with four Singaporeans arrested by the Singapore police and the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) last week, also for trafficking drugs by drone. Two of them - aged 29 and 34 - were arrested last Wednesday for suspected drug-related activities in which a drone was used to fly a bag of drugs from Johor Baru to Kranji.

Based on flight data retrieved from one of their phones, it is believed the suspects flew the drone from Kranji to Johor Baru and back that day.

The drone returned with the bag of drugs, which included 278g of methamphetamine, also known as Ice.

CNB officers subsequently found 35g of Ice, 8g of heroin and 195 Ecstasy tablets in a car belonging to one of the men, which was parked near Kranji Reservoir Park. In a follow-up operation the next day, CNB officers raided a unit in a private housing estate in Marne Road, where a 40-year-old man was detained. Drugs as well as $13,230 in cash were found in the unit. In total, the authorities seized drugs worth at least $44,000.

• Additional reporting by Zaihan Mohamed Yusof