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SINGAPORE: Drug traffickers and syndicates operating in Singapore are using “novel” smuggling methods to exploit COVID-19 travel restrictions, the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) said on Tuesday (November 17).
“The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in border closures and movement restrictions around the world,” said a spokesperson in response to inquiries from the CNA.
“However, drug traffickers and unions continue to exploit this situation, devising novel methods to smuggle drugs into Singapore, in order to profit from those caught in the vicious cycle of drug abuse and misery.”
Novel methods include hiding drugs inside fruits like coconut or papaya. People have also been arrested on suspicion of using a drone to import drugs into Singapore from Malaysia.
READ: CNB seizes drugs worth nearly S $ 2 million, including the largest heroin trade in nearly two decades
This comes after CNB announced on November 13 that it had seized drugs worth nearly 2 million Singaporean dollars, including 14 kg of heroin, which was its biggest loot from the drug in nearly two decades.
“Even with movement restrictions due to the COVID-19 situation, drug traffickers are still making big bets, exploiting the situation, in order to benefit from the addiction,” said Aaron Tang, director of the CNB Intelligence Division. .
Other notable failures include the seizure of more than 5 kg of heroin and 1 kg of ice on September 21, as well as more than 11 kg of heroin on July 30.
A CNA check showed that CNB has seized more heroin since April onwards, when the “circuit breaker” was activated, than all of last year.
READ: 4 Arrested After Drone Carrying Drugs Sighted Over Kranji Reservoir Park
The CNB spokesman said Tuesday that the agency in recent months “prevented a considerable amount of drugs from reaching the ground, disrupting the nefarious and novel methods of the unions to smuggle drugs.”
“We will continue our law enforcement efforts and pressure on drug traffickers and unions alike,” the spokesperson added. “The CNB will continue to work quickly and tirelessly to dismantle these drug syndicates.”
FRUITS AND DRONES
On June 17, two Singaporean men were arrested on suspicion of using a drone to import drugs from Malaysia. The drone was intercepted in the Kranji Reservoir Park and found to be carrying a black bag containing 278g of ice.
Police said at the time that flight data recovered from the phone of one of the suspects showed that the drone had flown from Kranji to Johor Bahru and back to Kranji.
LEE: 3 arrested, drugs worth more than S $ 66,000 seized, including ketamine hidden in coconut
The following month, on July 21, two Singaporean men were arrested in a residential unit along Upper Serangoon Road after a coconut used to hide 317g of ketamine was found.
Then on September 17, two Singaporean men were arrested after a papaya containing 333 g of ice and 121 g of ketamine was found in a fruit basket in their vehicle along River Valley Road. CNB officers also arrested three Malaysian men near the Pasir Panjang Wholesale Center, believed to be the source of the fruit basket.
LEE: Drugs hidden in papaya seized, eight detained in CNB operation
According to a report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime released in May, COVID-19 restrictions, such as border closures, have disrupted drug supply chains, leading traffickers to look for alternative routes according to the type of drug.
While heroin has been trafficked primarily by land, according to the report, traffickers are increasingly using sea lanes, as evidenced by seizures of opiates in the Indian Ocean.
Synthetic drugs like methamphetamine, which includes ice, tend to be trafficked through the air through bodily packages or hidden in luggage, according to the report. However, this could be “completely” interrupted by almost universal air transport restrictions.
“This is likely to have a particularly drastic effect on the trafficking of synthetic drugs, not least methamphetamine, to Southeast Asian countries,” the report added.
The CNB spokesman said the agency is committed to keeping Singapore’s streets safe from drugs. “CNB will not hesitate to investigate and take action if any drug-related activity is detected,” the spokesperson said.
