KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s fight against drugs continues to intensify, with narcotics worth RM2bil seized between January and September this year, says Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (pic).
The Home Minister said the country’s drug threat is now dominated by synthetic narcotics, with traffickers using the east coast as a key transit route.
“The latest United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime report shows that while opium remains a global concern, synthetic drugs have become the dominant challenge in South-East Asia, including Malaysia.
“In our country, the east coast has become the main corridor. For instance, last year alone, we seized nearly 10 tonnes of pil kuda [amphetamine] in Kelantan,” he told the Dewan Rakyat when winding up the debate on the Supply Bill 2026 yesterday.
To curb the problem, Saifuddin Nasution said he had directed the Kelantan police chief to demolish more than 200 illegal jetties along the Golok River, which separates Malaysia and Thailand.
He said shutting down these access points would ensure that only those with valid documents could cross the border, effectively disrupting smuggling and drug trafficking activities.
He disclosed that from January to September this year, the Narcotics Crime Investigation Department recorded major enforcement successes, including the dismantling of 16 illegal drug-processing laboratories and the arrest of 44 suspects.
Selangor saw the most raids, with five drug labs uncovered and 20 individuals detained.
During the same period, authorities opened 174,134 investigation papers under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 and the Poisons Act 1952, leading to 189,451 arrests nationwide.
Among the major drug busts was the arrest of a Taiwanese national with various narcotics worth RM54.5mil seized. Eight Taiwanese suspects were also caught with drugs worth RM55mil in an operation in Taman Industri Alam Jaya 2, Selangor, in January.
Saifuddin Nasution said border states such as Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan and Terengganu continue to record worrying trends in drug-related crime due to their proximity to trafficking routes.
