On 27 July 2015 at about 5pm, a Malaysia-registered taxi was stopped by officers from the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) for routine checks on arrival at Woodlands Checkpoint.
In the course of inspection, the ICA officers uncovered three bundles suspected to contain controlled drugs under the driver’s seat. Officers from the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) were immediately alerted of the detection. The 52-year-old male taxi driver and the three passengers, a 25-year-old male, a 40-year-old female and a 56-year-old female, all Malaysians, were referred to CNB for further investigations.
Swift follow-up investigations conducted by CNB officers saw the arrest of three male suspected drug traffickers – a 29-year-old, a 43-year-old and a 48-year-old - believed to be the intended recipients of the drugs. A 54-year-old male suspected drug abuser was also arrested. All four are Singaporeans.
The seized bundles were found to contain a total of about 1,145g of heroin, with an estimated street worth of more than S$80,000. A small amount of cannabis, ‘Ice’ and cash of more than S$9,900 were also seized in the operation.
Investigations on all the suspects are ongoing. The Misuse of Drugs Act provides for the death penalty if the amount of diamorphine (or pure heroin) trafficked is more than 15g. 15g of diamorphine is equivalent to 1,250 straws[1], which is sufficient to feed the addiction of about 180 abusers for a week.
Our borders are our first line of defence in safeguarding Singapore's security, and security checks are critical to our nation’s security. The Home Team agencies will continue to conduct checks on passengers and vehicles at the checkpoints to prevent attempts to smuggle in undesirable persons, drugs, weapons, explosives and other contrabands.
IMMIGRATION & CHECKPOINTS AUTHORITY
CENTRAL NARCOTICS BUREAU
28 July 2015
Photo Source (CNB): Heroin and cash seized in operation on 27 July 2015
[1] This is estimated using a typical purity level of 4%, based on drug seizures in recent years. The number of straws that are actually made may vary according to the purity level of the heroin used in the straws
