Brunei Darussalam

The patterns of drug use in Brunei have remained largely stable since 2003 with crystalline methamphetamine as the leading drug during the six year period 2003-2008, followed by cannabis which has maintained the number two position during those years. Crystalline methamphetamine is cited as being highly available and relatively inexpensive. Nimetazepam and ketamine were ranked third and fourth in 2008.

Crystalline methamphetamine showed a stable trend in 2008 following two consecutive years of decrease. The trend in cannabis use has fluctuated with alternating increases and decreases during the past four years. There was an increasing trend reported in nimetazepam use in 2007, but a decrease in 2008, possibly due to a shift in market demand for this drug. On the other hand, ketamine was reported to be on the increase in 2008 compared to a decrease in the previous year. Ecstasy was only reported once during the period, ranking third in 2006 with an increasing trend.

There are no estimates for HIV/AIDS and prevalence of injecting drug use in Brunei, but the prevalence is likely low given that smoking is the primary route of administration of methamphetamine.

Arrest, seizure and price data

After three years of steady increase, 2008 saw a decrease in the number of drug related arrests to 591. Despite the decline, this was still more than twice the number of arrests made in 2004. Approximately 85-95% of drug related arrests during the period 2003-2008 involved ATS, demonstrating the predominance of that drug category in law enforcement.

In terms of nationality, there was a small increase in the number of arrests involving non-nationals in 2007 and 2008, accounting for 7% of total arrests compared to 5% and 4% in 2006 and 2005 respectively. Males continued to dominate drug related arrests, accounting for 85% of the arrests involving nationals in 2008.

There are no reports of illicit ATS manufacture in Brunei and there is no legitimate domestic precursor production. Crystalline methamphetamine, cannabis and nimetazepam are primarily trafficked into the country from neighboring Malaysia (Biro Kawalan Narkotik, 2008; Biro Kawalan Narkotik, 2009).

Crystalline methamphetamine dominates drug seizures, accounting for over 75% of the cases in general. This is followed by cannabis herb. The number of cases involving crystalline methamphetamine peaked in 2007 with 325 reported seizures, compared to 210 reported in 2006 and 287 cases in 2008. In terms of quantity, the amounts involved in individual seizures remain low with annual seizures of crystalline methamphetamine of less than one kilogram. A total of three ecstasy seizures were made in 2006 and 2008. Seized amounts remained small with 50 pills in 2006, and 2 pills and 3 grams of ecstasy powder in 2008. Similarly, seizures of nimetazepam and ketamine remained small and limited to less than 10 cases annually.

As in other countries in the region, inhalants are also seized but available information is unsystematic.

The retail price reported to DAINAP of the three illicit drugs, i.e. cannabis herb, crystalline methamphetamine and nimetazepam, increased by a little over 10% in 2008 compared to the previous year.