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 drug crimes in response to a recent surge in cross-border drug smuggling, according to the Korea Customs Service (KCS).
The consensus was reached during a meeting between KCS Vice Commissioner Lee Myeong-ku and Charge d'Affaires Nazarudin Jaafar of Malaysia in Seoul earlier in the day, the Yonhap news agency reported.
At the meeting, Lee asked the Malaysian diplomat for stronger measures to prevent drug smuggling attempts by beefing up security checks and sharing information.
For his part, Nazarudin Jaafar said his country is closely watching the recent trend and vowed to cooperate with Korean authorities to prevent and crack down on trafficking.
The amount of drugs seized before being smuggled into the RoK from Malaysia has reached 89 kilograms as of November 11, compared with 7kg for the year 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 and eradication of drug trafficking, and has sought to strengthen cooperation with major nations for the efforts./.
