ALOR STAR: Kedah police have arrested 95 drug traffickers between January and Aug 19 this year, a 126 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.
State police chief Datuk Asri Yusof said during the same period, the police have also seized a total of 299kg of drugs and 4.6 tonnes of ketum leaves.
He attributed the increase in the number of arrest to the force's stringent enforcement to curb drug activities in the state.
“The largest seizure involved 122kg syabu, followed by 121kg cannabis and 56kg heroin.
“During the same period this year, we picked up 6,510 individuals for drug abuse, an increased of 2,102 people compared to the same period last year,” he said today.
Asri said the latest operation was held at 10.15pm last night at KM1.3 of the North-South Expressway near the Bukit Kayu Hitam border entrance.
He said the state police's Narcotic Investigation Department team arrested a lorry driver after they found 74 slabs of cannabis weighing 75.5kg stashed inside a hidden compartment of his car.
“The 30-year-old man was driving a Honda Accord car when he was flagged down by the police.
“The secret compartment was located behind the rear seat of the car,” he said.
He said the drugs, worth about RM150,000, were meant for the Penang market.
Asri said initial investigations showed that the man, from Sungai Petani, was paid RM1,000 to smuggle the drugs into the country.
"Yesterday, the man claimed it was the second time he had committed the act."
Asri added that police have remanded the man for a week to facilitate investigations under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 for trafficking. He could face death penalty upon conviction.