JOHOR BARU: Police seized 5.08 tonnes of drugs with a street value of RM 35.83 million and arrested 16,598 suspects last year, positioning the Johor police contingent as the third-highest achiever last year.
Johor police chief Commissioner Datuk Kamarul Zaman Mamat said its Narcotics Crime Investigation Department's (NCID) aggressive and relentless operations in combating drug syndicates resulted in multiple breakthroughs, as indicated in their Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
The department also confiscated various drug-processing equipment and paraphernalia valued at RM16.60 million, while 615 repeated drug offenders were arrested under Section 39C of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
Kamarul Zaman said under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1985 Special Preventive Measures, 127 addicts were detained, with 124 of them subjected to detention and surveillance orders.
He added the arrests achieved a rate of 97.63 percent, surpassing their KPI target of 86 percent.
NCID also recorded an impressive prosecution rate, with 5,728 (97.3 per cent) cases filed and charged in courts, with a success rate of 12,947 cases (86.25 per cent).
Throughout last year, the department dismantled 16 drug distribution syndicates, resulting in 98 arrests and drug seizures valued at RM25.07 million, while the syndicate members' assets worth RM7.08 million were confiscated.
He said via the Ops Tapis operation against drugs-related offences including addiction, police were focused on fishermen jetties, public housing projects (PPRs), drug dens, and Felda settlements.
This led to 1,478 arrests for various drug-related offences, including 175 suspects under the police 'wanted persons list'.
Among the arrests, 110 were detained under Section 39C of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 and 34 were subjected to the Act's Special Preventive Measures.
For the whole of last year, the state NCID conducted 1,423 raids on entertainment centres, where 15,243 patrons were screened, resulting in 1,105 drug-related arrests.
On Sept 27, last year, 322.13kg of various drugs and 1,562.60 litres of liquid narcotics were disposed.
The disposed drugs valued at RM5.43 million were from 3,214 solved drug-related cases between 2000 and 2022.
The department also conducted 62 joint operations with various government agencies, including the National Anti-Drug Agency, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry, Social Welfare Department, Health Ministry, and Johor State Islamic Religious Department.
