KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 1 — Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Abdul Hamid Bador today confirmed receiving a report that a Malaysian was arrested in Kalimantan, Indonesia recently after being suspected to be involved in smuggling 6kg of syabu into the country.

Abdul Hamid said Bukit Aman was informed by their Indonesian counterpart on the arrest of the Malaysian who hails from Tawau, Sabah.

"I don’t have the full report of the case with me but I was informed about the arrest and that the individual is from Tawau.

"This brings back to the statement I made the other day, that the drug problem in the country is at a very serious level.

"I want to take this opportunity to say that anyone who wants to conduct a study on drug problems in the country is welcomed to do so,” he said during a press conference at Royal Malaysian Police College in Cheras this afternoon.

On July 16, Indonesian media reported that six individuals were arrested including a Malaysian for smuggling drugs into East Kalimantan from Tawau, Sabah.

Abdul Hamid added that he still stands by his statement recently that the drug threat in the country is very serious and should be looked into by all relevant authorities.

On July 29, Abdul Hamid Bador sounded the alarm bells on drug abuse in the country, by saying that the number of cases has doubled and even policemen are getting caught taking drugs.

He said if stern measures are not taken to check the drug menace, Malaysia could go the way of Colombia.

Universiti Malaya Centre for Addiction Science Studies director Dr Rusdi Abd Rashid pointed out that no nationwide studies have been carried out in Malaysia to determine the prevalence of drug abuse.

He said this means there is no basis for comparison to determine whether drug abuse is indeed on the uptrend or otherwise.