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Number of Iranian drug traffickers caught in Malaysia surges

Other News Materials 8 October 2010 13:46 (UTC +04:00)
The number of Iranians caught for suspected drug trafficking in Malaysia has jumped from 16 last year to 138 this year so far, the Malaysian Deputy Home Minister said Friday.
Number of Iranian drug traffickers caught in Malaysia surges

The number of Iranians caught for suspected drug trafficking in Malaysia has jumped from 16 last year to 138 this year so far, the Malaysian Deputy Home Minister said Friday, DPA reported.

Abu Seman Yusop, who had just returned from a working visit to Iran with a delegation that included senior narcotic police officers, said in a statement that he has raised the issue with his Iranian counterpart.

"They have agreed to step up cooperation between enforcement agencies of the two countries," he said.

Out of the 138 arrested as of October 5, 121 were listed as alleged drug mules while the rest were suspected to be syndicate members. The drugs they carried were mostly amphetamines.

Malaysian police suspect syndicates of smuggling drugs into the country using air freight. Flights from Tehran usually transit in Dubai, Armenia, Kish, Doha, or Colombo before arriving in Malaysia.

Illicit drugs continue to find their way into Malaysia in large quantities despite the country's tough drug laws, according to which anyone convicted of drug trafficking gets the mandatory death sentence.

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