Korea Customs Service's Vice Commissioner Lee Myeong-ku (right) shaking hands with Charge d'Affaires Nazarudin Jaafar of Malaysia in Seoul on November 14 (Photo: YONHAP) Hanoi (VNA) – Malaysia and the Republic of Korea (RoK) agreed on November 14 to boost cooperation in their fight against drugcrimes in response to a recent surge in cross-border drug smuggling, accordingto the Korea Customs Service (KCS).
The consensus was reached during a meeting between KCS ViceCommissioner Lee Myeong-ku and Charge d'Affaires Nazarudin Jaafar of Malaysiain Seoul earlier in the day, the Yonhap news agency reported.
At the meeting, Lee asked the Malaysian diplomat forstronger measures to prevent drug smuggling attempts by beefing up securitychecks and sharing information.
For his part, Nazarudin Jaafar said his country is closelywatching the recent trend and vowed to cooperate with Korean authoritiesto prevent and crack down on trafficking.
The amount of drugs seized before being smuggled into the RoK fromMalaysia has reached 89 kilograms as of November 11, compared with 7kg for theyear 2022, according to the KCS.
The seized drugs from Southeast Asian nations topped 331kg in the reviewed period, compared with last year's 523 kg, it said.
Last month, the RoK launched a task force on the prevention anderadication of drug trafficking, and has sought to strengthen cooperation withmajor nations for the efforts./.
