KUALA LUMPUR: The police have seized almost RM1bil worth of drugs in raids from Jan to Nov of this year, says Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Razarudin Husain.

       Close to RM1bil worth of drugs were seized nationwide this year, says Datuk Razarudin Husain.

       The Deputy Inspector-General of Police said some RM951.69mil worth of drugs were seized between January and November.

       "It showed a sharp increase compared to last year where RM403.45mil of drugs were seized.

       "The number of those arrested this year showed a 13% decline, whereby 119,218 individuals were arrested this year compared to 137,738 last year," he told a press conference on Thursday (Dec 30).

       Syabu remained the top drug trafficked, making up 29% of the total drugs seized, Razarudin said.

       "Close to eight tonnes of syabu were seized this year, followed by 5.5 tonnes of ephedrine, 3.23 tonnes of ganja, 2 tonnes of erimin 5, 2.1 tonnes of heroin and 650kg of captagon pills," he said.

       The NCID also busted 19 drug processing labs this year, he added.

       "The drug labs would have been able to process 1.12 tonnes of drugs and earn profits up to RM50mil," he said.

       The increase in the drug haul was due to the country being used as transit to distribute drugs to other countries, including Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines and Greece, Razaurdin said.

       "The biggest drug seizures were conducted in Johor and Penang.

       "In Sungai Golok, Kelantan, we also detected 92 illegal points used by drug syndicates.

       "They prefer Sungai Golok to bring in drug shipments as 40m separates the borders of Thailand and Malaysia.

       "They encounter more risks at sea given diligent patrols by various agencies including the Marine Police and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA)," he said.

       Razarudin said cooperation between NCID and authorities from other countries is vital towards curbing international drug trafficking.

       "We cooperated with counterparts from other countries closely to combat the drug menace," he said.

       On a related matter, he said that 279 syndicates were busted this year with 1,147 syndicate members nabbed, saying that they ranged from traffickers to pushers.

       "We believe among those arrested are drug kingpins. Most of the syndicates busted were international syndicates," said Razarudin.

       He also said that the police has sealed property and seized over RM150mil in accounts from Jan to Nov, before adding that Bukit Aman is hot on the trail of a businessman believed to be behind a major drug syndicate.

       Razarudin said a warrant of arrest has been issued for the suspect, who is believed to be overseas.

       "We believe he is using legitimate businesses such as in the hotel and shipping industries to mask his drug trafficking activities," he said.

       Prior to fleeing the country, the Customs Department seized a shipment of syabu in Port Klang earlier this year belonging to the suspect, he added.

       "We believe the businessman is behind the shipment, meant for the northern part of the country. Intelligence gathered indicates that he is still in Asia," he said.

       Razarudin said some syndicate masterminds used legitimate businesses to launder their "drug money".

       "We are aware of this tactic. Some of them are involved in the tourism industry and even own factories in certain parts of the country," he said.