A total of 403 people were arrested during roadblocks across the country for defying the directives of the Movement Control Order (MCO) yesterday.

Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the figure was still relatively high.

"The Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) detained 403 people at roadblocks for violating the MCO. That figure dropped a little as opposed to 554 arrests the day before.

"But despite the decline, the number 403 is still higher than before," he told a press conference here Tuesday.

The PDRM together with the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) has conducted 763 roadblocks nationwide with 443,160 vehicles inspected.

"36,483 surprise inspections were also carried out and 4,571 premises inspected," he added.

Meanwhile, the PDRM has also revealed the nationwide crime index dropped by 70 per cent.

"The good news is that we have received reports from the PDRM that the country's crime index throughout the MCO has dropped 70 per cent.

"So, for our people who are constantly commenting on social media that their homes are left vacant and are afraid of crime, these statistics show that during the MCO, crime index has dropped 70 per cent," he added.