A sixteen-year-old girl among 112 suspected of drug offenses in Singapore

SINGAPORE: A 16-year-old girl was among 112 suspected drug offenders nabbed in an island-wide anti-drug operation, the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) said in a statement on Monday (Oct 28).

The raids, which took place from October 14 to 25 in areas including Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Clementi, Eunos, Jurong and Tampines, saw the seizure of a variety of drugs with an estimated street value of about S$296,000.

On October 14, CNB officers raided a residential unit near Bedok South Avenue 3 and arrested two Singaporeans – a 42-year-old woman and a 44-year-old man – inside the unit.

In total, approximately 1.7kg of ice, 69g of heroin and 17g of cannabis were recovered from the unit.

Two days later, officers raided two more residential units in the same block near Eunos Crescent.

In the first raid, officers arrested a married Singaporean couple: a 37-year-old woman and a 55-year-old man.

During this raid, approximately 32 grams of ice, seven grams of heroin, six Erimin-5 tablets and several ecstasy tablets were recovered.

The couple’s children, aged 10 and 12, were also in the unit during the raid. The children have now been placed in the care of their relatives.

In the second raid, officers forcibly entered the unit after the occupants – a 25-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman – refused to allow officers access to the unit.

Both Singaporeans were arrested and a small quantity of heroin was found within the unit.

Official figures released by the CNB on February 14 show that the number of drug addicts arrested in 2023 increased by 10 percent to 3,101, compared to 2,826 arrested in 2022.

Of those arrested in 2023, 944 were new drug users, an increase of 18 percent from 802 in 2022.

More than half of newly arrested abusers were under 30 years old. They included five 14-year-olds, the youngest abusers arrested.

The number of female drug users has also increased, with 454 arrested in 2023, compared to 408 in 2022.

New abusers in 2023 included 182 women, compared to 171 in 2022.

The investigation into all arrested suspects is still ongoing. – The Straits Times/ANN