MCO: Kelantan sees drop in drug cases, entry of illegal immigrants

KOTA BHARU, Feb 2  -- The statistics on drug trafficking cases and the entry of illegal immigrants through the Kelantan-Thailand border areas for 2020, showed a drop in seizures and arrests, compared with the previous year.

 Kelantan police chief Datuk Shafien Mamat said the drop in the number of cases was due to the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) since March last year, including closing the border gates to curb the spread of the COVID-19 in the country.

“Prior to MCO, they (smugglers and illegal immigrants) moved freely but during the MCO period with roadblocks mounted nationwide, has limited their movement,” he said in an exclusive interview with Bernama recently.

Detailing the statistics of drug trafficking syndicates, Shafien said 10,905 cases with seizures worth RM52 million, involving the arrests of 13,582 individuals were recorded last year.

In 2019, police crippled 12,819 cases of drug trafficking with seizures worth RM94 million and 15,531 individuals were arrested, he added.

He said that 97 per cent of the arrests on drug-related offences involved male youth, aged between 25 and 29. 

There was only 10 per cent of women being involved in these activities, mainly as a sidekick to their boyfriends, he said.

Meanwhile, on the arrest of illegal immigrants, Shafien said a total of 1,880 were detained in ‘Op Benteng’ last year, a significant drop compared with 3,990 individuals nabbed in 2019.

“On the arrests at Kelantan-Thailand border, a total of 471 individuals were detained last year compared with 782 in 2019. The majority of those detained were from Myanmar, followed by Thailand, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia.

In efforts to enhance the Kelantan police contingent, Shafien said he is applying for an increase use of drones to monitor the situation along the Kelantan-Thailand border areas.

He said by using drones, monitoring cross-border crimes and control operations at the country’s borders can be carried out effectively, thus making it easier for the security forces to detect any suspicious activities.

“We have limited number of drones in Kelantan, and I see this technology is necessary to monitor the surrounding areas and the movement of the smugglers at the border areas.

“There is a possibility that a special drone unit will be set up in Kelantan,” he said.

-- BERNAMA