[UPDATED] Only 6pct of drugs got through KLIA in first seven months - Hussein

Federal Narcotics Crime Investigation Department director, Datuk Hussein Omar Khan, revealed that only about six percent of drugs managed to bypass security checks at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in the first seven months of the year. Between January and July, police apprehended 51 individuals across 41 cases at KLIA, resulting in the seizure of 1,268.16kg of drugs valued at RM96.9 million.

Cannabis was the most prevalent drug seized, accounting for 1,244.99kg or 98.18 percent of the total. This was followed by 13.99kg of methamphetamine (1.10 percent), 7.86kg of cocaine (0.62 percent), and 1.32kg of ketamine (0.10 percent). Of the 51 arrests, 36 were men and 15 were women, originating from 13 different countries and territories.

British passport holders accounted for the largest group at 14, followed by Malaysians (12), Singaporeans (8), French nationals (5), Indonesians (2), Hong Kong passport holders (2), Japanese (1), and one each from Thailand, Ireland, Slovakia, India, Portugal, and Uganda.

Separate statistics showed that 14 Malaysians were arrested overseas after attempting to bring drugs through KLIA during the same period. These arrests took place in Taiwan (six), Indonesia (three), the Philippines (two), and Hong Kong, Macau, and the Maldives (each one). The drugs seized from these Malaysians, worth RM5.52 million, were roughly six percent of the total volume intercepted at KLIA.

Methamphetamine was the most seized drug among the Malaysians, comprising 33.53kg or 45.8 percent of the total, followed by MDMA (26.12kg or 35.7 percent), cannabis (6.4kg or 8.7 percent), heroin (6.12kg or 8.4 percent), and ketamine (1kg or 1.4 percent).