A man has been sentenced to jail and caning for importing cannabis-laced gummies and candies in the Republic’s first conviction involving the importation of cannabis edibles.
Singaporean Muhammad Dzulhilmi Salimi, 32, pleaded guilty on Dec 18 to one charge of importing a controlled drug, one charge of consuming drugs and another charge of possessing utensils intended for drug consumption.
He also grew three cannabis plants in his Housing Board flat in Bedok Reservoir Road, a charge that was taken into consideration for sentencing.
Dzulhilmi was sentenced to five years and four months’ jail, and given five strokes of the cane.
The court heard that Dzulhilmi bought the cannabis edibles by liaising with someone he knew only as “Nabil” via the mobile application Telegram.
Nabil lived in the United Kingdom and sold cannabis and sweets containing tetrahydrocannabinol, a substance found in cannabis.
Some time before Oct 19, 2022, Dzulhilmi ordered 20 packets of sweets from Nabil and paid him £200 in Bitcoin through a friend.
Dzulhilmi arranged to sell four packets of the sweets to his friends – three to “Ja”, and one to “Kasman” – for S$180 in total.
The parcel was intercepted by an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority officer at a SingPost Centre in Eunos on Oct 19, 2022, before it could be delivered to Dzulhilmi’s residence.
The officer had spotted anomalies in the parcel’s X-ray images. The parcel was handed to the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB).
On the same day, CNB officers arrested Dzulhilmi at his residence. The officers found cannabis plants, loose cannabis and a drug utensil in his room.
In response to the case, a CNB spokesperson reminded the public that consuming or importing any controlled drug, including cannabis products or edibles, is illegal in Singapore.
Even when overseas, any Singapore citizen or permanent resident found to have consumed controlled drugs will be liable for a drug consumption offence, said the spokesperson. — The Straits Times/ANN
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