SINGAPORE – Three 19-year-old Singaporeans were arrested by the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) on Sept 18 for suspected drug offences.
The amount of cannabis and Ice seized by CNB was estimated to be worth about $78,000 and could feed the addiction of 390 abusers for a week, the bureau said in a statement on Sept 20.
On the evening of Sept 18, CNB officers arrested two 19-year-old suspects – a man and a woman – at a residential unit near Rivervale Walk in Sengkang.
Officers recovered various drug paraphernalia in the bedroom, including a digital weighing scale.
The officers escorted the two suspects to another residential unit, rented by the man, at a private residential estate near Hougang Avenue 7. A search of this unit led to the recovery of about 486g of Ice and 695g of cannabis.
In a follow-up operation, officers raided a residential unit near Serangoon North Avenue 3. Another 19-year-old man was arrested in a bedroom of the unit.
A search of the bedroom led to the recovery of about 24g of Ice, various drug paraphernalia and cash amounting to $11,400.
Senior Assistant Commissioner Sng Chern Hong, CNB’s deputy director of policy and administration, said: “It is disheartening to see not just three young lives destroyed by drugs but also their families and loved ones becoming victims of drugs and drug abuse.”
He added that parents need to join the bureau’s efforts to educate youth about the harms of drugs and their destructive effects on families and society.
The CNB said that it is an offence for a person – on his or her own behalf, or on behalf of any other person, whether that other person is in Singapore – to traffic in a controlled drug or offer to traffic in a controlled drug.
It is also an offence to carry out or offer to perform any act preparatory to, or for the purpose of, trafficking in a controlled drug.
Individuals found guilty of trafficking more than 250g of methamphetamine or 500g of cannabis may face the mandatory death penalty.
Investigations into the drug activities of the arrested suspects are ongoing.