SINGAPORE: A Singaporean man who was wanted over suspected links to drug trafficking and sale in the country has been nabbed and charged, the Central Narcotics Bureau said on Sunday (Jun 30).
The 43-year-old, who operated from overseas, had been out of Singapore since Sep 27, 2019.
CNB said the man was wanted for his suspected involvement in supplying drugs to associates in Singapore for their subsequent trafficking and sale locally.
His involvement came to light during the course of CNB’s investigations into a drug trafficking case in February 2021.
The accused in the case, a Singaporean man aged 36 at the time of arrest, was apprehended with about 472g of heroin. He has since been convicted and sentenced.
As part of efforts to track the 43-year-old down, CNB reached out to its foreign counterparts.
“Following close cooperation between CNB and the Counter-Narcotics Police Department of the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam to monitor the fugitive, on Jun 28, the man was deported and handed over to CNB,” said the bureau.
The man was then charged with drug trafficking in relation to the case involving the 39-year-old.
Deputy director of CNB, Senior Assistant Commissioner Leon Chan thanked the Counter-Narcotics Police Department (CNPD) of the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) for their “strong support”.
“The close cooperation between CNB and CNPD in this operation is testament to the strong working relationship and trust that CNB has with CNPD, which resulted in the arrest of a Singaporean who believed he could carry on supplying drugs to associates in Singapore with impunity, simply by setting up base in Vietnam. He was badly mistaken,” he said.
“CNB will pursue all leads and work closely with our foreign counterparts to apprehend such criminals and bring them to justice.”
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