A pot of cannabis plant and three pots containing dried-up remnants of cannabis plants were found in a residential unit near Yishun Avenue 3 on May 16. - PHOTO: CENTRAL NARCOTICS BUREAU
SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): More than 150 suspected drug offenders were nabbed – with the youngest aged 14 – in a 12-day operation during which narcotics with a street value of about S$221,000 (RM1.08 million) were seized.
The raids, which took place from May 6 to May 17, covered areas such as Ang Mo Kio, Bukit Batok, Fernvale, Geylang Bahru, Hougang, Pasir Ris, Sembawang, Teck Whye and Yishun, said the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) in a statement on May 20.
The drugs – seized from a total of 159 suspects – included about 937g of heroin, 376g of crystal methamphetamine, or Ice, 161g of cannabis, four pots of cannabis plants, 32 Ecstasy tablets and 22 Erimin-5 tablets, it added.
The youngest suspect, a Secondary 2 student, was arrested for suspected drug abuse when CNB officers raided a home near Fernvale Road on May 6.
His 52-year-old father was arrested for suspected drug trafficking during the raid. Both father and son are Singaporean.
Small amounts of Ice and heroin, as well as various drug paraphernalia, were found in the unit.
Preliminary investigations show the man had given drugs to his son, CNB said.
At around dawn on May 16, CNB officers raided a home near Yishun Avenue 3 and arrested an 18-year-old Singaporean man.
A pot of cannabis plant and three pots containing dried-up remnants of cannabis plants were found in a cupboard in the youth’s bedroom. Various drug and plant cultivation paraphernalia, including soil and organic compost, were also recovered.
Preliminary investigations show the man had been trying to cultivate cannabis plants for about a month, CNB said.
The bureau reminded the public that the cultivation of cannabis plants is an offence. If convicted, offenders can be fined $5,000, jailed for no less than three years, or both.
On May 7, CNB officers raided a home for suspected drug activities. A one-year-old toddler – the child of a 39-year-old female suspect – who was in the unit has been placed under the care of a close relative of the suspected drug abuser, CNB said.
Mr Sng Chern Hong, CNB’s deputy director for policy and administration, said that about two in five of those arrested in the islandwide operation were below the age of 30.
He said of the father-son suspects: “Familial and inter-generational drug abuse contamination is real.
“This is a stark manifestation of the untold harm and destruction brought on by drugs on families and society, which is the core message of the inaugural Drug Victims Remembrance Day on May 17, and is a reminder that we cannot loosen our zero-tolerance stance against drugs.”
Investigations into all the suspects are under way. - The Straits Times/ANN
