On 9 July 2015, the Central Narcotics Bureau mounted an operation which saw the arrest of five suspected drug offenders and a seizure of about 2.31kg of heroin, crippling the activities of a drug syndicate. This haul of heroin is estimated to have a street value of more than S$161,000.
On 9 July 2015 at about 6.09 am, CNB officers arrested two suspected drug runners, a 51-year-old male Singaporean and a 45-year-old male Singaporean, at the Queen Street area after they had retrieved a plastic bag containing 5 bundles of heroin weighing about 2.31 kg from a trash bin. The plastic bag containing heroin was placed there earlier by a suspected drug courier, a 43-year-old male Malaysian who came in a motorcycle.
At about 6.29 am, CNB officers who had tailed the 43-year-old male Malaysian to his workplace at the Penjuru area moved in to place the suspect under arrest.
From swift follow-up investigations on the two male Singaporeans arrested at Queen Street, CNB officers proceeded to arrest the syndicate leader, a 44-year-old male Singaporean, in a unit at North Bridge Road. Another accomplice, a 48-year-old male Malaysian, was also arrested at Woodlands Checkpoint as he was attempting to leave Singapore in his lorry.
Investigations into the drug activities of the five men are ongoing. If convicted, the five may face the death penalty. The Misuse of Drugs Act provides for the death penalty if the amount of diamorphine (or pure heroin) trafficked exceeds 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.
CENTRAL NARCOTICS BUREAU
9 JULY 2015
Photo 1: Heroin seized in CNB operation on 9 July 2015
Photo 2: Lorry seized in CNB operation on 9 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.
