ALOR STAR: Drug traffickers are now using teenagers, in particular school children to distribute drugs in school.
State National Anti-Drugs Agency (NADA) director Mohammad Nazer Mustafa said based on information shared by the police, drug dealers are penetrating schools using students below 18 of years as drug pushers, paying them as low as RM10 to peddle drugs to other students.
He said that school children especially those between the age of 12 and 18 are still immature and ignorant, making them easy targets. Also, as they categorised as juveniles, they would not face a heavy penalty.
“Drug trafficking syndicates are said to offer between RM10 and RM50 to each student to become their pushers,” he said after distributing school bags to 100 students from poor families at SK Haji Salleh Masri in Kuala Kedah here today.
He said the agency has also carried out a survey that has revealed the overall number of students identified as drug abusers have dipped from 374 last year to 334 this year. However, the number of students consuming syabu has increased by 10 per cent.
“Based on our study, eight out of ten students who are doing drugs in Kedah, are taking syabu,” he said, adding that the numbers are worrying.
On another note, Nazer said Kedah recorded the highest number of people under supervision in the country this year with a total of 6,413 drug abusers as compared to over 5,000 people last year, and 75 per cent of them are between 19 to 39 years old.
The highest numbers of cases recorded are in Kuala Kedah, Kuala Muda, Kubang Pasu and Baling.