KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 27 -- Over 78,000 people are currently being sought by the police for various drug- and fraud-related crimes, revealed Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador.

Utusan Malaysiareported him as saying that of the approximately 78,026 individuals on this list, some are still believed to be in the country while others have fled abroad.

"Narcotics offenders remain the highest on the list, an indicator of the serious drug problem in Malaysia," Abdul Hamid said.

He added that 43,172 people on the list include drug syndicate members as well as drug addicts.

"For commercial crimes, including fraud and money laundering, the list has 18,497 names.

"Meanwhile, 16,109 others are being sought to provide information ...