Biggest heroin bust in 5 years

SINGAPORE - He is believed to have been distributing heroin locally, and was nabbed on Wednesday in the largest bust in five years.

A total of 12kg of heroin, worth more than $1.2 million in street value, was seized. The last single seizure similar to this size was on Feb 5, 2008.

The arrest in the Tagore area in Upper Thomson was not without drama, as Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officers swooped in on the 46-year-old Singaporean.

It was believed that he would be receiving a fresh consignment of drugs from a neighbouring country.

At about 10.30pm that day, CNB officers deployed to the area spotted him in his car. As they moved in to arrest him, the man tried to escape.

VIOLENT STRUGGLE

He drove his car up the kerb, hitting and damaging several CNB vehicles and a taxi that was parked along the road. He also struggled violently when arrested.

He may be charged with drug trafficking, an offence which may carry the death penalty.

In a statement on Thursday, a CNB spokesman said that had the 12kg of heroin found its way onto the streets, it would have been enough to supply one straw of heroin per day to more than 1,300 abusers for a month. CNB director Ng Ser Song commended his officers for the successful operation.

He said: "If this 12kg heroin had been distributed on our streets, it would feed 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 traffic in drugs at the expense of our society." On Tuesday, close to 22,000 "yaba" tablets, also known as methamphetamine, worth over $540,000 were seized at the Woodlands Checkpoint.

It is the largest single haul of such tablets in 14 years. The tablets were found in a car driven by a 51-year-old Thai man. He faces the death penalty if convicted

chaihyn@sph.com.sg

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