KUALA LUMPUR – A staggering 2,097 Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) personnel have been arrested for drug crimes, extortion, and armed heists between 2021 and August 2026, laying bare an alarming integrity crisis within the country’s primary law enforcement agency.
Official data disclosed by the Home Ministry in a written reply on the Parliament portal confirmed that narcotics offenses accounted for the vast majority of the rogue roster, racking up 1,551 arrests under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 alone.
Another 482 personnel were rounded up by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on graft allegations, while 64 officers were busted for participating in robberies.
“For robbery, 10 people were arrested in each of the years 2021, 2022 and 2025, as well as in the first eight months of this year, while 11 individuals were arrested in 2023 and 13 in 2024,” the ministry said.
Addressing graft crackdowns inside uniformed ranks, the ministry stated: “Arrests of PDRM personnel by the MACC involved 77 people in 2021, 86 in 2022, 129 in 2023, 53 in 2024, 87 in 2025 and 50 from January to August this year.”
The disclosure was made in response to Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng, who demanded a full accounting of criminal cops alongside an update on a high-profile February 5 heist in Country Heights, Kajang.
In that incident, a rogue pack of 12 police personnel allegedly staged a raid to rob a group of Chinese nationals of roughly RM200,000 in cryptocurrency.
On the status of the investigation into the 12 suspects, the ministry confirmed: “Police have opened an investigation paper into the incident on Feb 5, and investigations are being conducted under Section 395 of the Penal Code” — which provides penalties for gang robbery. – October 28, 2026