INTERNATIONAL drug cartels, primarily from Latin America, have turned Malaysia into a transit hub for the distribution of cocaine and are exploring new markets in Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. 

Bukit Aman Narcotics Department director Mohd Kamaruddin Md Din said Malaysia was chosen because of its infrastructure and communication networks. 

“Malaysia has lightly patrolled waters, which makes it easier for syndicates to bring in drugs,” he said. 

He said the thick forests, mountainous terrain, and expansive borders between Malaysia and Thailand also facilitated this. 

Cocaine yields a return 10 times higher than other drugs and its demand is rising among rich users.

Mohd Kamaruddin said drug smuggling has become prevalent as it generates significant income for syndicates, both at international and local levels. 

In Malaysia, he said, the demand for cocaine is still low due to its high price. 

“Most cocaine users in the Asia Pacific region, including Malaysia, are wealthy and well-known individuals,” he told The Malaysian Insight. 

He disclosed that from late 2022 to early this year, drug syndicates across Southeast Asia – including local ones - had resumed operations following the lifting of border closures caused by the Covid pandemic. 

“To minimise their losses as a result of seizures, these drug syndicates have found new, innovative ways to smuggle their drugs, especially crystal methamphetamine or ‘syabu’, out of Southeast Asia and cocaine from Latin America into Southeast Asia for onward distribution to markets that fetch high prices,” he said. 

Mohd Kamaruddin said the syndicates are now increasingly using sea routes to move their drugs to avoid tight scrutiny on land. 

According to police statistics, 547,860.42kg of drugs were seized from 2021 up to June this year. Of the total, 31.44kg was cocaine, with 20.74kg seized in the first six months of this year.

During the same period, 1,505.77kg of heroin was also seized – 1,276.96kg in 2021, 181.03kg last year, and 47.78kg this year.

Other drugs like cannabis (13,352.07kg), methamphetamine (2,0182.71kg), ketamine (3,834.85kg), ecstasy pills (534.01kg), and kratom leaves (491,563.33kg) were also seized. 

On August 1, the Customs Department smashed an international drug trafficking syndicate that had declared illegal drugs as health supplements. These included capsules of cocaine. 

The drugs were found to have originated from the Netherlands and the amount seized at KLIA cargo complex was valued at RM17.6 million. 

In September 2019, the Bukit Aman Narcotics Department seized 12 metric tons of cocaine worth RM2.4 billion that was smuggled in from a Latin American country. 

Transshipment of it was to have happened via Butterworth Port in Penang. 

The cocaine, mixed with charcoal, constituted the largest drug seizure in the country’s history. 

The street value of cocaine in Southeast Asia in 2021 was RM200,000 per kg. 

The market price for the narcotic in cocaine-producing countries like Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Panama is only around RM40,000 to RM50,000 per kg. 

In the Malaysian market, cocaine can cost up to RM200 per gram. – August 17, 2023.