KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 17 — City police chief Commissioner Datuk Seri Mazlan Lazim today said that the continuous police crackdown on drug abusers at entertainment outlets in the city has led to party-goers turning to drug-fuelled private parties instead.

He said this was an emerging trend where drug-fuelled parties were being held at luxury apartments or condominiums located throughout the city centre.

"I believe the trend emerged following widespread fear of being caught after the police intensified raids at entertainment outlets nationwide.

"These wild parties are usually held in rented premises and on a strictly invitation-only basis through instant-messaging apps such as WeChat,” he said during a press conference at the police headquarters here.

Mazlan said 252 out of 325 partygoers arrested in 2018 tested positive for drugs.

He said it was appalling that individuals as young as 12 were participating in private parties, with at least 20 of those nabbed last year being found to be underaged.

"I would like to advise the public not to involve themselves in such parties because legal action will be taken against them and we must prevent this trend from growing,” he said.

Mazlan said the police conducted a total of 21 raids in 2018, with 16 of them falling under the Dang Wangi district.

"The numbers are high in Dang Wangi because that is where most luxury apartment residences are located,” he said.

Some of the drugs commonly found during such private parties were ganja, syabu, Erimin 5 pills, Ecstasy pills, ketamine and ketum juice with a total confiscated value of RM68,942 to date.

Mazlan reiterated that the police will not compromise in their effort to eradicate drug abuse in the city centre by cracking down on entertainment outlets and private parties.

"Last year, a total of 1,818 arrests from 174 entertainment outlet raids were recorded. This is testament to our committed effort to combat drug abuse in such premises,” he said.

Meanwhile, five suspects including a woman and her husband were arrested in Brickfields after RM200,000 worth of syabu was discovered in their possession on Monday.

Mazlan said the five aged between 20 and 37 were detained in a parking lot inside two vehicles along Jalan Thamby Abdullah at 7.05pm following a tip-off.

"During a search, we found at least four kilograms of syabu originating from Bukit Tinggi, Pahang prepped for distribution to about 8,000 users in Brickfields,” he said.

Initial investigations revealed that the five were members affiliated with a secret society group and had been active for about two months.