PASIR PUTEH, Sept 3 (Bernama) -- A Malaysian man detained in India for alleged drug trafficking has provided information that helped Malaysian police identify the wider drug network, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
He said the information was obtained through cooperation with the authorities in the country concerned via Police-to-Police (P-to-P) channels and ASEAN platforms, which enabled Malaysian authorities to interview the Malaysian national.
“Through our questioning of them, we found much more information. Based on the information, we have already made several arrests,” he told a media conference after the handover ceremony for the completed Region Three Marine Police Base project in Tok Bali here today.
He said Malaysian authorities were also seeking to establish whether the individual had acted alone or was part of an organised criminal network.
“We want to establish whether he acted alone, whether he was one of the perpetrators in organised crime, and so on,” he said.
Saifuddin Nasution was responding to an international media report that a 62-year-old Malaysian man was detained by Chennai Customs, India, on Aug 31 after allegedly attempting to smuggle 3.452 kilogrammes of hydroponic cannabis worth about 1.20 crore (RM520,000) into the country.
Meanwhile, he said the government was strengthening security at the country's entry points, particularly airports, following several cases involving Malaysians who departed the country before being detained in their destination countries.
He said the Home Ministry and Transport Ministry had submitted a 17-point proposal to the Cabinet to improve security, covering short-, medium- and long-term measures for both outbound and inbound movements.
The improvements involve several agencies, including the police, Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (AKPS), Immigration Department, aviation security, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) and Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM), he said.
-- BERNAMA