More than 200 nabbed for illegal loans and other drugs

MORE than 100 people have been arrested for drug-related crimes in a four-day sting operation that ended this morning (April 29). About 200g of heroin, 150g of cannabis, and 120g of crystal meth, or “ice”, were seized from the 103 individuals, of whom at least two are Singaporean.

The pair are a 28-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman who were spotted together by Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officers in Tampines Street 44 on Tuesday. The man, a suspected drug trafficker, was discovered carrying four packets of ice hidden in a modified metal can designed to look like a drink container and was arrested along with his companion immediately.

Several more of these cans were discovered at his home when the officers proceeded to search his residence, uncovering about 80g of ice and a small amount of cannabis.

The four-day operation was carried out in Ang Mo Kio, Boon Lay, Bukit Batok, Geylang, Jurong, Tampines, Tiong Bahru, Toa Payoh, Woodlands and Yishun.

In a separate statement released today, CNB said it will be upgrading 21 drugs to Class A controlled substances with effect from this Sunday (May 1). Currently identified as “temporarily listed” drugs on the Fifth Schedule of the Misuse of Drugs Act, the bureau said abuse of the 20 “new psychoactive substances” – also known as NSPs – and one tryptamine generic group drug have been on the rise due to its “rapid increase in the number, type, and availability” worldwide.

Another two NSPs, commonly known as “MT-45” and “4,4’-DMAR” will also be listed directly as Class A controlled drugs. Any person found guilty of trafficking Class A controlled drugs faces a minimum of five years’ imprisonment and five strokes of the cane.

NSPs are synthetic drugs created to mimic the the effects of established illicit drugs, such as cannabis, LSD, and ecstasy. Abuse of these drugs can lead to paranoia, seizures, hallucinations and death.

A day after the couple’s arrest in Tampines, police in a separate incident arrested a 39-year-old man believed to have broken into a flat in Bukit Batok on Wednesday. He had broken into the victim’s bedroom through the window, but was caught after the victim, who was in the kitchen at the time, spotted him trying to flee the scene.

With the help of his neighbours, the victim detained the man until police arrived. The man was arrested and was charged in court today.

Elsewhere in Singapore, officers from the Criminal Investigative Division (CID) arrested 99 people this week in three separate cases all linked to loansharking activities.

In a statement released to media yesterday, police said that those involved in such crimes regardless of their roles will face the “full brunt of the law”. The maximum sentence for a first-time offender found guilty of assisting in unlicensed moneylending is a fine of $300,000, four years in jail, and six strokes of the cane.

 

Featured Image Bound by Flickr user Connor Tarter

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