"The emphasis of this meeting is to meet more frequently to discuss ways of handling drug issues, rather than meeting once a year," director of Federal Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Royal Malaysia Police, Commissioner Datuk Seri Mohmad Salleh, stated here on Tuesday.
He made the remarks at the 11th bilateral meeting between the Indonesian National Polices Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) and the Federal Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Royal Malaysian Police.
The meeting must be held as frequently as possible. Although the meeting is held on a small scale, it focuses on combating drugs at a provincial level in the two countries, he noted.
Citing an example, he revealed that the working group meeting may involve Penang and Medan, Johor and Batam, Entikong in West Kalimantan, and Tawau in East Kalimantan, with Serawak.
"Meetings between neighboring provinces of the two countries are necessary as they serve as drug trafficking networks," he remarked.
Commenting on an allegation that Malaysia is a drug supplier, he revealed that his country is not a drug producer but is used as a transit point by drug traffickers from Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos.
Hence, to deal with free drug trafficking, which is part of international networks, international-scale operation involving countries in the region is needed, he revealed.
Besides intensive operations, there must be efforts to increase peoples awareness about areas in the two countries which become the target of drug marketing, he noted.
"I think Malaysia and Indonesia need to strengthen their cooperation under the spirit of ASEAN member states," he stated.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2017
