No money for milk, mum used it on drugs: More children rescued in CNB raids in 2024


SINGAPORE – As Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officers arrested a woman at her home for abusing drugs, her three-year-old son stood by and watched.

Seeing this, Station Inspector Nasrin (not his real name) wanted to make milk for the boy and asked his mother where she had kept the milk powder.

She replied: “No more milk powder, can help me buy?”

SI Nasrin, who cannot be named due to the covert nature of his work, asked if she had run out of it.

The mother, who is in her 30s, said: “I’ve no money to buy milk powder, I used it on drugs.”

A relative later dropped by with milk powder for the boy.

Checks by The Straits Times on reported cases in 2024 showed CNB officers rescued at least 10 children during drug raids at residential units that year.

This was more than the four children rescued during raids in 2023, based on reported cases.

A total of 3,119 drug abusers were arrested in 2024, according to CNB’s annual statistics report released on Feb 12. New abusers totalled 966 in 2024, more than the 952 arrested in 2023.

Speaking to ST in an exclusive interview on Feb 26, SI Nasrin said: “Drugs don’t only affect the people who abuse them. There are people who have never taken drugs but are suffering because their family members abused it.”

The father of three girls aged eight to 13 added: “The ones who suffer most are the children. When they are exposed to drugs at such a young age, that leads to trauma and the mindset that taking drugs is normal.”

In the case of the three-year-old boy, his mother, stepfather and their two friends were arrested while abusing drugs at home.

SI Nasrin said: “As a father of three, I feel for this boy. He clearly lacked nutrition because his mother prioritised drugs over him.”

In a separate case when CNB officers raided a Sengkang flat, they found a 14-year-old boy lying in bed with drug paraphernalia on his chest. Packets of methamphetamine were strewn beside him on the bed.

SI Nasrin, who was part of the raid, recalled: “The worst part was his spectacles were held together by a rubber tube which was used to consume drugs.

“When I asked him what happened to his spectacles, he said they broke, but he had no money to repair them. So he improvised.”

In October 2024, the boy’s father, a recalcitrant drug abuser, was sentenced to six years and eight months’ jail after he gave his son methamphetamine from his own stash when the boy asked him for some.

SI Nasrin said the father did this when he found out his son was cheated while trying to buy drugs.

“Instead of reprimanding him, he offered him more drugs. The father said this was his way of protecting him,” he added.

SI Nasrin’s colleague, Inspector Casey (not her real name), who was also at the interview, recalled an incident where CNB officers arrived at a hotel where a woman was found asleep after abusing drugs.

Her three-year-old son had been crying, screaming and banging on the hotel room door as he had not been fed for hours.

Hotel staff heard his cries, opened the door and found drugs in the room.

There was also the case when CNB officers arrested a mother of five in her 20s at her home.

The youngest child was a baby, and they were sharing a soft drink among themselves.

Said Insp Casey: “The mother told me her children shared a bed. She also stashed her drugs in the same room her children slept in. The home was messy and dirty, and all the children seemed to have rashes.”

The mother’s boyfriend, who came home during the raid, was also arrested for taking drugs.

When the children’s parents or guardians get arrested, CNB would contact their next of kin to care for the children, Insp Casey added.

If there are none, or if they are found to be unsuitable, the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) would then be alerted.

An MSF spokesman said it works with CNB and other law enforcement agencies to ensure that any vulnerable children whose parents are arrested for drug abuse will receive help.

“Depending on the severity of the concerns, CNB officers may alert the social service offices, family service centres or the Child Protective Service (CPS) for assistance,” he said.

The spokesman added that if the child cannot remain safe at home or if there are no other suitable guardians, CPS will place the child in alternative care such as foster care or a children’s home. CPS will also work with the family on when they are ready to safely care for the child.

CPS will also ensure the child and the family receive counselling, therapy, and financial assistance if needed.

Stressing the importance of working towards a drug-free society, SI Nasrin said: “When parents consume drugs in front of their children, they learn, and it could become a vicious circle.”

Insp Casey added: “We see the conditions some of these children are living in, the neglect and the lack of care for them. It’s really horrible to the extent that cannot be imagined.

“For so many of these children, their basic needs are not even cared for. Remember, when you take drugs, you can’t even take care of yourself, what more your children?”

  • Nadine Chua is a crime and court journalist at The Straits Times.

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