BUKIT KAYU HITAM: A university student was among 16 people arrested by the National Anti-Drug Agency (AADK) in Kedah after testing positive for drugs upon returning from Thailand.
The university student, 23, was travelling with three friends when they were stopped at an AADK roadblock at the Immigration, Customs, Quarantine, and Security Complex (ICQS) here.
He tested positive for ganja, while his three friends' tests returned negative.
"This was the first time I've ever taken drugs. I was eating alone at a shop when a Thai man approached me and asked if I wanted a 'smoke'," the student told AADK personnel last night.
"So I tried it but didn't think I would get caught," he said.
Kedah AADK director Khairul Anwar Ahmad said the operation, conducted between 6am and midnight yesterday, aimed to detect drug abuse and smuggling among Malaysians celebrating the New Year in Thailand.
The police's K-9 unit assisted in the operation.
A total of 15 cars were inspected, and 45 people were required to undergo urine tests.
"Only 16 tested positive for drugs, most of whom are youths aged 18 to 39," he said after the operation.
The 16, comprising 14 men and two women, tested positive for various drugs, including ecstasy, ganja, ketum, and Benzodiazepine, commonly known as "chill pills."
"All of them were arrested under Section 3(1)(a) of the Drug Dependants (Treatment and Rehabilitation) Act for the arrest of a suspected drug user."
No attempts to smuggle drugs were detected, Khairul added.