Deputy Home Minister Shamsul Anuar warns young Malaysians against attractive job offers and sponsored trips used by drug syndicates to recruit drug mules.
KUALA LUMPUR: Drug syndicates are increasingly targeting young Malaysians, including university students and graduates, with lucrative job offers, sponsored holidays and travel expenses in a bid to recruit them as drug mules.
Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah said the syndicates were exploiting young people through seemingly attractive employment opportunities and financial incentives, exposing them to serious legal and personal safety risks.
“Drug syndicates are targeting young people, including students and graduates of higher education institutions, through offers of well-paying jobs, holiday packages, flight tickets, accommodation and financial rewards.
“These developments show that syndicates are increasingly exploiting young people through offers that appear attractive but actually carry very serious legal and safety risks,” he told the Dewan Rakyat on Nov 5.
Shamsul said police records showed that 213 Malaysians had been detained overseas between 2024 and September 2026 on suspicion of acting as drug mules.
He was responding to a question from Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan (PN-Kota Bharu), who sought details of the government’s coordinated measures to combat syndicates targeting young people and graduates with lucrative incentives.
Takiyuddin also asked about the latest methods used by syndicates to exploit e-commerce platforms and online marketplaces for drug distribution.
Shamsul said the government recognised the seriousness of the drug threat and was stepping up enforcement efforts, including through international intelligence cooperation and tighter border security.
He said enforcement agencies were working with their foreign counterparts to strengthen intelligence networks and detect activities linked to drug trafficking.
The government was also continuing investigations and surveillance operations to disrupt trafficking networks and strengthen controls at the country’s borders.
In response to a supplementary question, Shamsul described drugs as the country’s number one enemy and stressed that combating the problem required collective action alongside the enforcement of existing laws.
“Drugs remain our number one enemy, and efforts to combat them must be carried out collectively, alongside the laws that are already in place.
“If we look at the efforts undertaken, there have been many operations, including the RM2.4 billion drug seizure in Puncak Alam.
“This demonstrates the ministry’s enforcement capabilities, although we acknowledge that much more still needs to be done,” he said.
Beyond enforcement, Shamsul said the government was placing particular emphasis on prevention among young people through education, awareness programmes and community engagement.
He said initiatives such as the School Liaison Programme were among the measures being implemented to educate students about the dangers of drug-related activities.
He added that the government would continue to combine intelligence-led enforcement with preventive measures to protect young Malaysians from being drawn into drug syndicates.
