More than 1.4kg of drugs seized from taxi at Woodlands Checkpoint

SINGAPORE - A 53-year-old taxi driver and his 37-year-old female Malaysian passenger were detained on Friday after more than 1.4kg of drugs was found in the vehicle at the Woodlands Checkpoint.

On June 12 2015 at about 1.20am, a man who was driving a Singapore-registered taxi was stopped by officers from the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) for routine checks at Woodlands Checkpoint. There was a female passenger in the taxi.

ICA officers uncovered a bag placed under the front passenger seat of the vehicle. Upon closer examination, the officers found seven bundles wrapped with black tape. Suspecting the bundles to contain controlled drugs, officers from the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) were immediately alerted of the detection.

The seized bundles were found to contain a total of about 1.4kg of heroin, about 149g of 'Ice', 140 tablets of Ecstasy and 100 Erimin 5 pills. The total estimated street value of the drugs amount to about $129, 500.

Investigations into the two suspects are ongoing. Trafficking more than 15g of diamorphine (or pure heroin) carries the death penalty in Singapore, according to the joint statement from ICA and CNB. 15g of diamorphine is equivalent to 1,250 straws, which is sufficient to feed the addiction of about 180 abusers for a week.

candicec@sph.com.sg