Malaysians are buying synthetic drugs for as low as RM18, says National Anti-Drug Agency D-G
PUTRAJAYA, July 10 — Malaysians can buy synthetic drugs for as low as RM18, including delivery fee, National Anti-Drug Agency (AADK) director-general Sutekno Ahmad Belon said today.
During a press conference today, Sutekno said however that the price tag depends on the type and the purity level of the drug in question.
“The amount will increase according to the purity. It depends on the drug, depends on the authenticity or the purity. Cheap ones, for as low as RM18, including delivery, have been recorded [by the agency],” he told the press after the Cabinet Committee meeting on the Eradication of Drugs meeting at Perdana Putra here.
The meeting was chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who skipped the press conference as he had urgent matters to attend to.
Sutekno said the “deep web” is another platform that enables addicts to source illicit substances.
The “deep web” is an umbrella term for parts of the internet not fully accessible using standard search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo.
“One through the website to know and order and send via courier, normal delivery and the other can be done via Telegram WhatsApp platform.
“The price is more or less the same, instead of going to the pusher, they can order, place their orders, and send them straight to their house,” Sutekno said.
In a statement that was distributed to the press after the meeting today, Zahid expressed concern over a study by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime that found more than one million Malaysians are drug addicts.
He said that the study estimated that 1,097,408 Malaysians are hooked up with illicit substances.
“I expressed my concern when I saw the estimated statistics of the total number of drug addicts increasing to 1,097,408.
“And out of that number, 1,051,712 were men and 45,696 were women. It's even devastating when out of the total number, 328,640 are 15-29 years old,” Zahid said.
He said he has given the Home Ministry and the AADK three months to work with the relevant agencies to tackle Malaysia’s drug problem.
“This meeting will also look at the game-changer for this issue and coordinate with all relevant Ministries, agencies and NGOs,” he added.
