SINGAPORE – A 58-year-old Singaporean man was arrested after drugs worth more than $628,000 were found in his car at Woodlands Checkpoint on Jan 20. The man had arrived in a Singapore-registered car at around 11pm. During enhanced checks of the vehicle, Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers discovered 10 black bundles hidden under the driver’s seat and another five under the front passenger seat.
“As the bundles were suspected to contain controlled drugs, the man was immediately placed under arrest and the case was handed over to the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) for further investigation,” said ICA and CNB in a joint statement. Subsequent investigations revealed the bundles contained approximately 5,653g of heroin, 14g of Ice, 11g of Ecstasy, and 2,000 Erimin-5 tablets. The total value of the seized drugs is estimated to exceed $628,000.
According to ICA and CNB, the quantity of drugs found could potentially sustain the addiction of about 2,700 abusers for a week. Additionally, cash amounting to $48.60 and RM1,640.90 (S$500) was seized during the operation. Under Singapore’s Misuse of Drugs Act, those caught importing or exporting more than 15g of diamorphine (pure heroin) may face the death penalty. Investigations are ongoing.