Kuala Lumpur, 30th October 2024 - Drug syndicates are using Malaysia as a transit hub while fulfilling demand from local drug users, and the nation's top cop wants the Narcotics Crime Investigation Department (NCID) to redouble its efforts.
Federal police in Bukit Aman are working on measures to identify smuggling routes used by drug syndicates to bring in and smuggle out drugs to cut off the supply of drugs into the country.
NCID Director, CP Dato' Seri Khaw Kok Chin said one of the reasons syndicates were using Malaysia as a transit hub was because they could earn up to five times more when the drugs were smuggled out to other countries.
“Another factor is because of the geographic position of our country, which is situated strategically near the Golden Triangle (Myanmar, Thailand and Laos).
“These drugs can be worth four to five times higher in other countries, which is why syndicates take advantage of the situation to smuggle the drugs in before smuggling them back out,” he said at the district police headquarters here.
The “Golden Triangle” region is said to provide ideal conditions for the cultivation of opium, which is used to make Morphine and Heroin.
Dato' Seri Khaw said police were taking proactive measures to identify hotspots used by syndicates to smuggle drugs into Malaysia.
“I cannot give an exact figure because these routes are constantly changing,” he said.
Read further on the New Straits Times' article attached.