KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 26 — The police are facing an increasingly challenging situation in their efforts to eradicate drug trafficking, following syndicates’ increasingly creative modus operandi to escape legal action.

Of late, there have been several raids involving large drug seizures by the police, of drugs hidden in cars which were used as storage, parked on the side of the road.

Bukit Aman Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department (NCID) director, Datuk Seri Mohd Kamarudin Md Din, in acknowledging that it is the latest trend of drug trafficking syndicates, said that it presented challenges to the investigating officers.

Mohd Kamarudin said that the tactic was used to avoid any meeting between the syndicate, ‘transporters’ and drug buyers.

"If these drug buyers and transporters are arrested, they cannot provide information about the syndicate in detail, because they do not know each other, because there was no face-to-face meeting,” he told Bernama recently.

According to Mohd Kamarudin, it has caused the investigation to be complicated and challenging, due to the element of drug ownership which is difficult to prove, as in most cases the owner of the vehicle is someone else, whether it is a rented or abandoned car, and does not belong to the individual arrested.

In the meantime, the speed of digital technology also allows users to buy drugs online without seeing each other, because of drug delivery and then using a courier service.

Mohd Kamarudin said that there are also several websites (dark web) which have been identified as carrying out drug buying and selling activities openly online.

"Police will continue to carry out intelligence from time to time, to ensure that distribution activities through the dark web do not develop more widely,” he said.

Meanwhile, NCID, according to Mohd Kamarudin, has successfully seized 19,147.56 kilogrammes of various types of drugs, and 13,913.44 litres of various types of liquid drugs, to combat drug distribution and abuse for 10 months this year. Also seized were 64,870.73 kg of ketum leaves and 49,013.56 litres of ketum water.

The total value of the seizures was RM452.40 million.

Mohd Kamarudin said that NCID always tries to find a solution to ensure that criminals are punished according to the existing laws. — Bernama