A 41-year-old Singaporean man was arrested on Wednesday, April 16, for attempting to smuggle a large amount of drugs in a Malaysian-registered car arriving at Woodlands Checkpoint.
The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) issued a press release and said on Saturday, April 19, that he was attempting to smuggle the drugs – including 4.7kg of heroin, nearly 3.3kg of cannabis, 1.6kg of Ice or crystal meth and 1,000 Erimin-5 tablets—into Singapore.
The man was a passenger in a Malaysian-registered car, which was directed for enhanced checks when ICA officers noticed him behaving suspiciously.
During their search, the authorities discovered a slab of ten tablets on him that they believed to be illegal drugs. A bag containing the drugs was found when CNB officers were informed of the find and conducted additional inspections.
More than $1,200 in cash in Singapore dollars, Malaysian ringgit, and Thai baht was also confiscated by the officers.
When CNB investigators brought the man to his home on Woodlands Drive on Thursday, April 17, they found more controlled substances, including e-vaporizers, 307g of ketamine, 172g of ice, and 99g of ecstasy.
CNB said, "The drugs seized have an estimated worth of more than S$845,500 and could potentially feed the addiction of about 3,730 abusers for a week."
Under Section 7 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1973, those who import into or export from Singapore more than 15g of diamorphine or "pure heroin," or more than 250g of methamphetamine, or more than 500g of cannabis may face the death penalty.
The statement added, "ICA will continue to work with CNB to prevent attempts to smuggle drugs across our borders. ICA will also continue to conduct security checks at the checkpoints to prevent attempts to smuggle undesirable persons, weapons, explosives, and other contraband across our borders."
