BUKIT KAYU HITAM: The Kedah National Anti-Drugs Agency (AADK) detained twenty-three individuals, including a Form Six student from Jitra, after they returned from a holiday in Thailand during the National Day break.
Kedah AADK director Khairul Anwar Ahmad stated that the arrests were made under Operation Merdeka 2025, conducted from Saturday afternoon until this afternoon at the Bukit Kayu Hitam ICQS Complex.
The operation involved three officers and twelve personnel focusing on detecting drug abuse among incoming travellers and preventing cross-border smuggling.
Thirty vehicles and fifteen motorcycles were inspected, with thirty-one individuals ordered to undergo urine tests.
Twenty-three of those tested returned positive results for various drugs.
Those detained included twenty-one men and two women aged between eighteen and forty years.
The Form Six student and her twenty-five-year-old partner were arrested at six this morning.
The student tested positive for ketamine, believed to have been consumed at an entertainment outlet.
Others tested positive for cannabis, methamphetamine, and MDMA.
All detainees were held under Section 3(1)(a) of the Drug Dependants (Treatment and Rehabilitation) Act 1983 for further action.
Initial investigations indicated most detainees were first-time users who experimented with drugs at entertainment venues.
AADK recommends continued student screenings to detect drug abuse, particularly in schools. – Bernama
