A 22-year-old Malaysian man has been arrested after allegedly attempting to smuggle more than 8.6kg of cannabis and over 1.5kg of methamphetamine into Singapore on Saturday (1 August).
If convicted, he faces the mandatory death penalty under Singapore’s strict drug laws. This incident comes to light after two similar recent high-profile cases involving Malaysians caught allegedly smuggling drugs to Indonesia.
Drugs concealed in boot worth over ~RM1.2 Million
In a statement issued on Monday (3 August), the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said its officers directed the man’s car for further inspection at the Woodlands Checkpoint. During the initial search, officers discovered a box containing two packages of suspected drugs inside the vehicle’s boot.
Officers from the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) were subsequently called to the scene. A more thorough inspection uncovered additional suspected drugs hidden throughout the boot.
In total, Singaporean authorities seized approximately 8.646kg of cannabis and 1.569kg of methamphetamine, commonly known as “Ice” or crystal meth.
The ICA estimated the total street value of the seized drugs at more than SGD 361,000 (~RM1.2 million), noting that the haul was sufficient to feed the addiction of roughly 2,132 drug abusers for a week. Investigations by the CNB are ongoing.
The perpetrator may face the death penalty upon conviction
Under Singaporean law, anyone convicted of importing or exporting more than 250 grams of methamphetamine or more than 500 grams of cannabis faces the mandatory death penalty.
In a separate development, Singapore authorities announced that 100 individuals were arrested during a nationwide anti-drug operation in July, which also resulted in the seizure of illicit drugs valued at more than SGD 34,000 (~RM113,000).
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