15-year-old students among 113 arrested in anti-drug raids
Two 15-year-old students were among 113 suspected drug offenders nabbed in an islandwide operation, with $1.54 million worth of drugs seized.
The raids took place from Aug 12 to 23 and covered areas such as Bukit Timah, Ghim Moh, Hougang, Jurong, Marsiling, Mountbatten and Tampines, the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) said in a statement on Aug 23.
A total of about 9.8kg of heroin, 3.3kg of ice or methamphetamine, 620g of cannabis, 72g of ketamine, 171g of methamphetamine pills, 74 tablets and 48g of Ecstasy tablets were seized.
The bureau also seized 4,404 Erimin-5 tablets, 11 LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) stamps, five bottles of liquid suspected to contain GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyrate) and five bottles of methadone.
The first 15-year-old student was arrested on Aug 19 for suspected drug abuse when he was found with a small amount of ice.
The CNB said follow-up investigations led to the arrest of another 15-year-old boy, also a student, for drug trafficking.
Both boys are Singaporean and are the youngest arrested in the raids.
One of the suspects is a 45-year-old Singaporean man who was arrested on Aug 13 with about 371g of ice, 124g of cannabis, 30g of Ecstasy, 19g of ketamine and one Erimin-5 tablet.
Another suspect is a 67-year-old Singaporean man who was arrested on Aug 14 with about 9.5kg of heroin – the largest single heroin seizure in 2024 so far.
He was also found with 2.6kg of ice, 4,182 Erimin-5 tablets, 171g of methamphetamine pills, 18g of Ecstasy, five bottles of methadone and about $25,240 in cash. The total estimated worth of the drugs seized in this case is about $1.4 million.
Investigations are ongoing.
CNB deputy assistant commissioner and director of enforcement Saherly Limat said the arrest of the 15-year-old suspected drug trafficker is a “stark reminder to all, that we must not lower our attention on the teenage drug situation”.
He said: “We must continue to engage our youth on the topic of drugs and the harm drugs can cause.
“Parents have a key role to play in preventive drug education, lest (the youth) end up getting information via dubious channels and start sliding down the slippery slope of drugs.”
The director added that the CNB has preventive drug education information online, which parents can use to start such conversations with their children.
“The time to start engaging them is now, not later,” he said.
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