Minister reveals those aged 25-40 years most involved in drug abuse

March 28, 2018

Abdul Karim (left) chairs the state-level Drug Enforcement Action Council meeting in Kuching yesterday.

KUCHING: Sarawakians between the ages of 25 and 40 years have been found to be the ones most involved in drug abuse in 2017.

Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said a total of 5,638 persons from the 25-40 age bracket were nabbed for the offence last year.

“In 2017, 2,056 people arrested for drug abuse were aged between 25 and 29, while 1,894 people were aged 30 to 34 years and 1,688 between the ages of 35 and 40.

“These people fall under the youth category, and were either employed or jobless when they were detained,” he said during a press conference yesterday after chairing the state-level Drug Enforcement Action Council meeting here yesterday.

He added that in total, 6,953 individuals were detained by the Malaysian Drug Prevention Association (Pemadam) Sarawak for drug abuse in 2017, compared to 6,147 the previous year.

Abdul Karim also said that Syabu was the most ‘popular’ drug in the state last year compared to 2016, as evidenced by the large increase in Syabu seizures.

“In 2016, the amount of Syabu confiscated was about nine kilogrammes, which increased more than three-fold to over 28 kilogrammes in 2017,” he said, adding that ketamine seizures also went up from 1.5 kilogrammes in 2016 to five kilogrammes last year. -TheBorneoPost