METHAMPHETAMINE accounts for about 70 per cent of drugs smuggled into Malaysia through the Thailand border, with the country also being targeted as a transit point and potential processing hub by drug syndicates, police said.
Bukit Aman Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department (NCID) director Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said most of the drugs brought into Malaysia were subsequently smuggled to countries including Indonesia and the Philippines, while cannabis flower was largely trafficked to Europe due to high demand there.
“About 70 per cent of the drugs entering Malaysia through the Thailand border are methamphetamine, while cannabis is also among the drugs being smuggled in. Most of these drugs are then taken out of Malaysia to countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines.
“However, cannabis flower is mostly smuggled to European countries due to the high demand there,” he told reporters in Kota Bharu yesterday.
Hussein said Malaysia was continuing to work closely with the authorities in Thailand and Indonesia to combat drug smuggling, including through intelligence sharing.
He said police were also monitoring attempts by syndicates to establish drug-processing facilities in Malaysia using precursor chemicals brought in from abroad.
“We know Malaysia is a transit country and that many drugs are brought in from the northern part of the country. There have also been attempts by syndicates to turn Malaysia into a drug-processing hub by bringing in precursor chemicals from countries such as China.
“These syndicates use various methods to bring in the materials before processing the drugs here,” he said.
Hussein said police would continue monitoring and dismantling drug laboratories while disrupting attempts to smuggle drugs into and out of Malaysia.
Asked whether police had detected other drug laboratories in the country, he said investigations were still ongoing.
On Aug 15, the NCID raided a large-scale drug-processing laboratory in Puncak Alam, Selangor, during Op Eumenes, seizing more than 13 tonnes of MDMA in liquid and powder form and other drugs estimated to be worth RM2.4 billion. - September 11, 2026
