KUALA LUMPUR: The police have recorded nearly 180 cases of drugs and poison being sold on e-commerce platforms between 2023 to 2025, the Dewan Rakyat was told. Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department recorded 179 cases involving distribution through digital platforms, messaging applications and e-commerce sites between 2023 and 2025.
These operations resulted in 76 arrests and the seizure of 1,101kg of drugs and poison, said Saifuddin. According to Saifuddin, syndicates often disguised drugs within parcels labelled as daily necessities or commercial goods, such as dried food, clothing, accessories, health products or small electronics.
"This method aims to avoid suspicion and complicate early detection. Suspects also typically use fake identities, providing invalid or incomplete names, phone numbers and addresses. In some cases, third-party accounts are used to break the tracking chain," he said.
Saifuddin said these suspects preferred making small but frequent shipments to minimise the risk of financial loss if items were seized and to avoid red flags. Saifuddin also said transactions were mainly cashless using e-wallets, while communications took place via encrypted messaging apps to evade monitoring.
To address this issue, Saifuddin said the police strengthened cooperation with courier and p-hailing service providers. He highlighted a recent engagement session on Dec 21 involving the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, the Communications Ministry and 40 courier companies including Pos Malaysia, DHL and J&T Express.
"We are looking at optimising technology such as sender address verification, CCTV monitoring at courier premises, and the development of a high-risk user database. Other measures proposed include the use of thumbprints during the parcel registration process and the establishment of a Centralised Scanning Centre," he added.
Saifuddin was responding to Datuk Mohd Isam Mohd Isa of Barisan Nasional, who asked about the latest trends of drug distribution methods and the government's measures in addressing the issue.
