Kelantan police have partnered with more than 10 major courier companies operating in the state as part of efforts to prevent drug syndicates from using parcel delivery services to smuggle narcotics across the Malaysia-Thailand border.
Kelantan Police Chief Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mamat said the initiative began last year and focuses on strengthening cooperation between law enforcement agencies and courier operators to detect and disrupt drug trafficking activities.
According to him, police have conducted briefings with courier companies to explain the tactics commonly used by drug syndicates, including cross-border networks that exploit parcel delivery services to transport illegal substances such as yaba pills.
“We called in more than 10 courier companies operating in Kelantan and shared information on syndicate methods so that their employees can be more alert,” he told reporters.
Yusoff said courier workers have been advised not to allow parcels to be left unattended outside service counters, as such practices could be exploited by traffickers using drop-off arrangements to conceal their identities.
Police have also urged courier operators to enforce stricter verification procedures, including obtaining proper identification details from senders and ensuring all manual registration requirements are fully complied with.
“If parcels are simply left outside counters for collection or delivery, it becomes difficult to verify who sent them.
“We advised courier companies to be more stringent and ensure proper documentation is recorded,” he said.
Authorities believe drug syndicates are increasingly turning to courier services because of the convenience and high volume of parcels moving through logistics networks daily.
Intelligence gathered by police indicates that some trafficking groups maintain cross-border operations and use delivery channels as part of their distribution strategy.
Yusoff also encouraged courier employees to trust their instincts and immediately report any parcel or transaction that appears suspicious.
“If something does not feel right, staff should raise the alarm immediately,” he said.
Although no major drug seizures involving courier services have been recorded recently in Kelantan, police have questioned several courier employees as part of ongoing monitoring and preventive efforts.
The collaboration comes amid growing concerns over attempts to use logistics networks for drug trafficking.
Recently, Thai authorities thwarted several smuggling attempts involving parcels containing between 10,000 and 500,000 yaba pills, with an estimated street value ranging from RM100,000 to RM5 million.
The shipments were reportedly sent from northern Thailand to Sungai Golok, where the town was used as a transit point before the drugs were intended to be smuggled into Kelantan.
Police said cooperation with courier companies will continue to ensure parcel delivery networks do not become an easy route for criminal syndicates to move illegal drugs across borders.
