KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians account for nearly a quarter of travellers arrested for trying to bring cannabis into the United Kingdom this year.
The British High Commission said 378 air passengers were arrested for cannabis smuggling at airports in the country between Jan 1 to Aug 12.
Of this number, 93 were Malaysians, making them the second highest group of offenders from a single country, after British nationals.
It said the National Crime Agency has seized 15 tonnes of cannabis at UK airports this year.
This is more than three times the amount seized in the whole of last year.
It said travellers caught arriving in the UK with cannabis face jail sentences and not just fines as may of those arrested have claimed they were told.
The maximum sentence for cannabis importation in the UK is up to 14 years in prison.
So far, 196 people have been convicted and sentenced this year.
Passengers were most often found to be carrying between 15 and 40kgs of cannabis inside their checked-in luggage.
"We would appeal to anyone who is approached to engage in smuggling to think very carefully about the potential consequences of their actions, and the risks they will run," said NCA director-general of threats, James Babbage.
"We know organised criminals can be persuasive, and offer to pay couriers. But the risks of getting caught are high, and it just isn't worth that risk."