SINGAPORE –The Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB), along with the Singapore Police Force (SPF), has reported that an arrest has been made of four suspects accused of drug trafficking using an unmanned aircraft last June 20 (Saturday). The four suspects, three men and one woman, are all between the ages of 24 and 40.
It was on June 17 (Wednesday) at around 5.45 in the afternoon when a drone carrying a black bag was found in the area of the Kranji Reservoir Park. Officers from the Woodlands Police Division were dispatched to the area and saw the drone hovering in the air with the bag attached to it.
While they were on-site, they found and arrested two of the four suspects, both men aged 24 and 29, who were reportedly operating the drone. Police took both the drone and the bag into custody for further checking. Inside the black bag, they found around 278 grams of ‘Ice,’ which is the street name for crystal meth or methamphetamine.
The police also found the car of one of the perpetrators parked in the reservoir, which had more drugs inside. According to the report on the cnb.gov.sg website, “an assortment of controlled drugs, about 35g of ‘Ice,’ 8g of heroin and 195 ‘Ecstasy’ tablets, were also found.”
Authorities also believe that the accused flew the drone between Singapore and Malaysia. Further investigation discovered flight data on one of the accused’s mobile phones, proving that the drone had gone from Kranji to Johor Bahru, then back again to Kranji that same day.
The police did a follow-up operation on June 18 (Thursday) and two more suspects were arrested. This time a man and a woman were nabbed in connection to the case. The female is a 24-year old alleged drug user caught near a private housing estate on Marne Road, while the 40-year old male was a suspected drug trafficker inside a unit on the same estate.
CNB forced their way inside the unit after the man refused them entry. CNB shared, “A total of about 76g of ‘Ice’, a small amount of heroin, two Erimin 5-tablets and cash amounting to S$13,230, were found within the unit.”
Although investigations are still ongoing, two suspects – the 34 and 29-year old men – were charged on June 19 (Friday) “with trafficking Class A controlled drugs,” according to CNB. /TISG