Weekends are typically the times of the week most people look forward to, be it spending time with their loved ones, or simply taking a rest. Weekends, however, have a different meaning for the Home Team officers who are tasked with the crucial role of keeping the typical weekend of Singaporeans the way it was meant to be – relaxed.

2 Needless to say, weekends are also busy times at the checkpoints when traffic is higher than usual and smugglers “start playing games” with the authorities. After having attempted concealment at the most awkward parts of their body (the groin area), bootleggers are playing down their attempts by using the most inconspicuous decoys – plastic bags. Self-delusion. Under the watchful eyes of the Home Team officers at the checkpoints, it is not possible to escape detection.

3 On 23 August 2008, ICA and Police K-9 officers at the Woodlands Checkpoint conducted an operation on cars arriving in Singapore. At about 1035hrs, the officers stopped a Singapore-registered taxi for thorough inspection. It was driven by a 71 year-old male Singaporean Chinese ferrying a lone Malaysian male passenger.



Photo 1: Singapore-registered taxi

4 In the course of the checks, the eagle-eyed officers noticed a black plastic bag stashed in the rear passenger seat of the vehicle. Upon opening the plastic bag, the officers found strips of tablets bundled together and a packet of yellowish substance.



Photo 2: A very lame attempt at camouflaging

5 A total of 690 tablets of suspected ‘Erimin 5’ and approximately 227.9 grams of yellowish substance, suspected to be heroin, were found. The 26 year-old Malaysian Chinese passenger, who is also a drug abuser, admitted ownership of the drugs. Preliminary investigations revealed that the subject was told to deliver the drugs to a female Malaysian Chinese at a taxi stand in Woodlands. When probed further, he claimed that he would only receive a sum of RM50 upon successful delivery of the drugs.



Photo 3: Suspected drugs retrieved from the plastic bag



Photo 4: Total exhibits uncovered

6 The case was then referred to the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) for investigations. CNB officers immediately launched an operation to arrest the 26 year-old Malaysian Chinese passenger’s drug recipient.

7 At about 1225hrs, CNB officers spotted the female recipient sitting on the kerbside near a silver Mitsubishi Gallant which was parked in the vicinity of the Woodlands taxi stand. A male Chinese was observed to be inside the car. Shortly after, the male Chinese alighted from the car while the Malaysian female was seen entering the car from the front passenger side. At this juncture, the officers moved in and swiftly arrested both of them. A thorough search of the car was conducted with the assistance of officers from the Police Dog Unit. Officers seized drug paraphernalia, approximately 0.7 grams of ‘Ice’, 50 ‘Ecstasy’ tablets, 1 ‘Erimin-5’ tablet and a stun gun from the vehicle.

8 Both suspects were brought back to the CNB office at Woodlands Checkpoint. Along the way, an alert CNB officer noticed the female subject removing something from her pocket and immediately stopped her. She was found with three ‘Erimin-5’ tablets. At the CNB office, officers conducted a search on both suspects and seized approximately 0.6 grams of ‘Ice’ and a digital weighing scale from the male suspect.

9 The 26 year-old male Malaysian Chinese passenger will be investigated for the offence of importation of a controlled drug. If convicted, he will face a minimum sentence of five years’ imprisonment and five strokes of the cane.

10 The 29 year-old female Malaysian Chinese subject and the 24 year-old male Malaysian Chinese suspect will be investigated for the offence of conspiracy to import a controlled drug. If convicted, they will face a minimum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment and 5 strokes of the cane. However, the Criminal Procedure Code provides that women shall not be caned. The 71 year-old male Singaporean Chinese taxi driver has been released pending further investigations.

11 Approximately 227.9 grams of heroin, 1.3 grams of ‘Ice’, 694 ‘Erimin-5’ tablets and 50 ‘Ecstasy’ tablets with a total street value of approximately S$64,600 were seized in the entire operation. One stun gun, one digital weighing scale and various drug paraphernalia were also recovered.

12 As Singapore’s first line of defence against terrorist threats, ICA has a duty to ensure the security and safety of Singapore. ICA has tightened security checks on passengers and vehicles at the checkpoints to prevent attempts to smuggle undesirable persons, drugs, weapons, explosives and other contraband into Singapore. The same methods of concealment used by contraband smugglers may be used by terrorists to smuggle arms and explosives to carry out attacks in Singapore. ICA would like to advise the public against smuggling unlawful goods into Singapore. In the continued fight against drugs, CNB together with ICA and other enforcement agencies at the entry and exit points, are also stepping up enforcement efforts to ensure that illicit drugs do not gain a foothold in Singapore.


ISSUED BY: IMMIGRATION & CHECKPOINTS AUTHORITY AND CENTRAL NARCOTICS BUREAU

DATE: 25 August 2008