KOTA BHARU, Sept 22 – Kelantan recorded RM33.47 million in commercial crime losses from January to August this year, marking a steep increase of RM5.97 million compared to the RM27.50 million reported during the corresponding period in 2025.
Kelantan police chief Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mamat confirmed that total commercial crime cases rose significantly from 1,100 to 1,921, representing an additional 821 cases year-on-year.
A primary driver behind the surge was e-commerce scams, which grew from 260 to 657 cases, while other general cybercrime cases increased from 287 to 444 cases over the same timeframe.
“This trend shows that crime is increasingly changing in line with technological developments. Therefore, our actions must also change rapidly, particularly in prevention and public awareness,” Mohd Yusoff said during his speech at the Kelantan contingent police headquarters monthly assembly.
Despite the rise in financial and cyber-related offenses, Kelantan saw a three percent drop in its overall crime index from January to August, declining to 1,213 cases compared to 1,251 cases recorded during the same period in 2025.
Violent crime dropped by 11 percent from 310 to 276 cases, while property crime recorded a slight decrease from 941 to 937 cases.
In enforcement against illicit narcotics, drug-related cases dropped 13 percent from 18,427 to 16,044, while total arrests declined 10 percent from 19,469 to 17,579. The monetary value of seized drugs fell 31.49 percent from RM25.47 million to RM17.45 million, attributed to targeted and systematic police operations.
To sustain crime prevention momentum, the state contingent is maintaining active operational strategies, including Mobile Patrol Vehicle (MPV) and Unit Ronda Bermotor (URB) patrols, the AMANITA initiative, community policing programs, and inter-agency collaboration.
State authorities are also encouraging wider public participation through the Volunteer Smartphone Patrol (VSP) application, which registered 150,019 members across the state contingent as of Aug 31.
Mohd Yusoff emphasized that outreach strategies involving youth must adapt to digital media consumption while preserving face-to-face engagements to maintain community trust and uphold public safety across Kelantan.
–NMT
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