Malaysia's Double Threat: A Hub for Narcotics and a Magnet for Traffickers The recent arrest of a pilot on drug trafficking charges has shed light on Malaysia's growing status as a regional hub for narcotics, but this is not a new story.
The country's dual vulnerability – its role in facilitating the movement of illicit substances through Southeast Asia and its emergence as a source of unwitting or coerced "drug mules" – raises disturbing questions about the social and economic conditions that contribute to Malaysia's attractiveness to traffickers.
Malaysia's strategic location, nestled between major drug producing regions in the Golden Triangle and the Indian Ocean trade routes, makes it an attractive transit point for narcotics.