Published: Wednesday November 10, 2010 MYT 3:16:00 PM
382 foreigners nabbed in 2010 for suspected drug trafficking
KUALA LUMPUR: The first nine months of this year saw 382 foreign nationals arrested for suspected drug trafficking, and 222 of them are still under investigation, the Dewan Rakyat was told Wednesday. Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wira Abu Seman Yusop said a large number of these foreign nationals came from Myanmar (120), Iran (97), Thailand (39), Indonesia (33) and Nigeria (23).
Last year, 225 foreign nationals were arrested for the same reason, and 137 of them were still under investigation, while in 2008, up to 227 were held and 214 were still under investigation, he said when replying to a question from Loke Siew Fook (DAP-Rasah).
Abu Seman said the Government was concerned about drug trafficking in the country and the police had undertaken various measures to eradicate the activity. "These include stepping up cooperation with foreign enforcement agencies to exchange intelligence information and establishing a profile of suspected drug couriers flying into the country," he said.
He also said checks were conducted at the entry points of the country, particularly airports where high-tech equipment such as scanners had been placed. Replying to a supplementary question from Datuk Mohamad Aziz (BN-Sri Gading), on claims that Malaysia was a conducive transit point for drug trafficking, Abu Seman said there was no truth to such claims. - Bernama
