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The Star

Deep within Malaysia’s sewage systems, traces of fentanyl, the infamous drug that is 100 times more potent than morphine, have been detected.
In a groundbreaking effort, authorities are now turning to waste water analysis to track the presence of dangerous drugs and even pinpoint hidden drug labs.
Deputy Inspector General of Police Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said a collaboration between the Narcotic Crime Investigation Department (NCID) and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) has led to the game-changing discovery of fentanyl and methamphetamine resi­dues in the Lembah Subang sewage system in Selangor state.
“The drug residue analysis in the sewage system also revealed the presence of drug processing labs in the area,” he said in a press conference after attending the committee meeting on the strategic cooperation between the police and UKM on Wednesday.
Drug residue analysis in sewage systems have been done in the Klang Valley and Johor but it will be expanded nationwide, he added.
“Once we analyse samples from around the country, we will be able to see the drug trend more accurately.
“Results from analysing the sewage water will lead to intelligence gathering and operation,” he said.
Collaboration with UKM have also produced the biosensor test kit using the timsTOF analyser machine, which can get faster and more accurate results – 20 seconds compared to two days previously, Ayob Khan said.
“The use of the test kit and machine is a game changer in tracing types of drugs.
“Through the use of a biosensor test kit, 57 types of drugs were detected in one urine sample,” he said.
The collaboration between NCID and UKM started on October 21, 2022, he said.
“Six working packages were drafted encompassing various aspects including technological development, research, forensic and capacity building.
“The cooperation focused on various things including develo­ping the biosensor test strip, molecule forensic data hub and analysing drug residue in sewage water,” he said.


Ayob Khan said the home ministry has approved an allocation of 8.4 million ringgit (US$1.8 million) for the collaboration to ensure each working package could be conducted smoothly and have high impact.
“We expect the programme to increase enforcement capabilities and foster more cooperation with foreign agencies including Interpol, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and others,” he said.
On another matter, Ayob Khan said the chemicals listed in the Poisons Act 1952 should be expanded to include new types of substances and chemicals connected to new drugs to enable prosecution.
He said only 110 items were listed in the law compared to UNODC that listed more than 1,000 types of drugs.
“The main goal is to conduct scientific research on banned substances, including New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) and efforts to produce drugs illegally in the country.
“Two machines – timsTOF and Dart TQ, owned by us and priced at 3.9 million ringgit and 2 million ringgit respectively, have assisted in increasing the capabilities of identifying and analysing drug threats from a scientific perspective,” he said.
If new substances are not listed in the law, the police will face difficulties in taking action against the culprits, he said.
“An amendment to the Act needs to be made to include more chemicals in the list. Hopefully the process will not take long,” he added.
Between January 2024 and February this year, he said 115 tonnes (253,532 pounds) of drugs worth 1.7 billion million ringgit have been seized.
“We also detained more than 300,000 individuals consisting of addicts and traffickers,” he said.
This story was first published by The Star


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Police use new test kit and waste water analysis to speed up drug detection and boost enforcement efforts


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