KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 27 — Over 78,000 people are currently being sought by the police for various drug- and fraud-related crimes, revealed Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador.
Utusan Malaysia reported him as saying that of the approximately 78,026 individuals on this list, some are still believed to be in the country while others have fled abroad.
“Narcotics offenders remain the highest on the list, an indicator of the serious drug problem in Malaysia,” Abdul Hamid said.
He added that 43,172 people on the list include drug syndicate members as well as drug addicts.
“For commercial crimes, including fraud and money laundering, the list has 18,497 names.
“Meanwhile, 16,109 others are being sought to provide information or statements related to their involvement in criminal cases,” Abdul Hamid said.
These include cases under the Kidnapping Act 1961, the Firearms Act 1971, as well as other forms of penal legislation.
The list also has 248 names of individuals who are wanted for traffic offences, which he explained is only applicable to seizable offences under the Road Transportation Act 1987.
“Those offences also fall under Sections 41, 42, 44 and 45 of the Act, in which an accused person fails to attend court and as such is included in the wanted list.
“Although we do arrest wanted persons who are spotted during roadblocks throughout the movement control order, this does not happen often,” Abdul Hamid said.
Further checks on the official police portal revealed 15 people have been listed as wanted persons for various offences as far back as 2003.
They are being sought to assist cases involving murder, kidnapping and cheque forgery.
