KUALA LUMPUR: Police arrested 969 foreigners last year for drugs and drug-related offences.

They are all believed to have been charged, with 225 facing the mandatory death penalty if convicted.

The offences committed by nationals from 25 countries included testing positive for drug abuse, possession and trafficking of drugs.

Here are some of the cases:

- In January, 11 men and a Thai woman were arrested at different locations in Johor, Kuala Lumpur and Negri Sembilan. Two of the men were from Thailand and the rest were Malaysians.

Police found two laboratories used to produce Ecstasy pills for the domestic and international markets. Raids yielded 6.1kg of ketamine valued at RM48,000, 13,015 Eramin 5 pills worth RM130,000 and 12,636 Ecstasy pills valued at RM120,000.

- In March, 10 men -- six Malaysians and four Taiwanese -- were arrested in Johor Baru. Police raided a laboratory and seized 6.1 million Erimin 5 psychotropic pills worth RM61 million as well as ingredients for making the drug.

- In July, three Pakistani men were arrested at Kuala Lumpur International Airport after police found high-grade heroin hidden in their luggage. Police seized 9.5kg of heroin grade IV worth RM2.17 million and 26.2kg of heroin base worth RM5.98 million.

In another case, three men and three women, including a China national, were arrested in Kuala Lumpur and Muar.

They had set up a laboratory to produce Ecstasy pills. Police seized 13,361 Ecstasy pills worth RM133,610.

- In August, police arrested 10 men in Kuala Lumpur, including three Indian nationals and three from Myanmar. A variety of drugs, including ketamine, cannabis, syabu, heroin and Ecstasy pills, were seized.

- In September, a Thai woman with 787.4g of cocaine worth RM550,000 was arrested at a budget hotel in Jalan Pudu. She was believed to be a mule waiting to smuggle the drug abroad.

- In October, six men and a woman were arrested in Kuala Lumpur, including five Iranians. The woman was an Indonesian.

Police seized 3.3kg of powdered syabu worth RM594,000 and 4.6kg of syabu in liquid form of an undisclosed value. The suspects are believed to have set up a laboratory in Happy Garden, Kuala Lumpur.

- In November, an Iranian couple was arrested at a hotel in Bandar Utama and police seized 4.1kg of syabu worth RM738,000.