Heroin worth $1.2m seized - largest single haul in 5 yearsf

Anti-drug officers on Wednesday seized about 12kg of heroin with a street value of more than $1.2 million, their largest single haul of the drug in five years.

A 46-year-old Singaporean man was arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking.

"Had this 12kg of heroin flowed onto the streets, it would be enough to supply one straw of heroin per day to more than 1,300 abusers for a month," the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) said in a statement Thursday.

The last time a heroin seizure of such magnitude occurred was on Feb 5, 2008, when CNB seized a total of 10kg of the drug, which had a street value then of $1.5 million. Six men and two women were arrested in that operation.

On Wednesday night, the CNB launched an operation targeting the Singaporean man, who was suspected to be actively distributing the drug in the local market.

"It was believed he would be receiving a fresh consignment of drugs from a neighbouring country," CNB said.

CNB officers who were deployed in the Tagore area, near Upper Thomson, spotted the suspect in his car at around 10.30pm. When they moved in for the arrest, the man tried to make a getaway.

He drove his car up onto the pedestrian kerb, hitting and damaging a few CNB vehicles and a taxi parked along it in the process.

He also put up a violent struggle while being arrested.

Investigations are ongoing. If convicted, the man may face the death penalty.

CNB director Ng Ser Song said: "If the 12kg of heroin had been distributed onto our streets, it would have fed the addiction of huge numbers of heroin addicts, at a cost to our society.

"CNB will persevere and continue to pursue to the fullest extent those who traffick in drugs at the expense of our society." This is the second major drug bust in as many days.

More than 21,000 "yaba" - or methamphetamine - tablets with a street value exceeding $540,000 were seized on Tuesday when a Thai-registered vehicle driven by a 51-year-old Thai national arrived at the Woodlands Checkpoint.

It was the largest single haul of the drug in 14 years.

Two men and a woman were arrested in relation to that drug consignment.

Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.