SINGAPORE \u2013 Twelve migrant workers in a Woodlands dormitory were arrested for suspected drug-related offences after a Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) raid on Nov 27. <\/p>\n
The men are aged between 23 and 40 years old. Eleven are Bangladeshis, while one is a Myanmar national.<\/p>\n
CNB said on Nov 28 that a 34-year-old Bangladeshi man was arrested for suspected drug trafficking and drug consumption offences. <\/p>\n
The four-hour operation involved officers from CNB, the Health Sciences Authority, Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, Ministry of Manpower and the police.<\/p>\n
The Straits Times was invited to witness the operation, which started with a briefing around 9pm on Nov 27 at CNB\u2019s headquarters at Police Cantonment Complex.<\/p>\n
Members of the media and CNB officers set off in unmarked vehicles to the dormitory.<\/p>\n
As rain pelted down, officers entered the dormitory before midnight.<\/p>\n
In one room, four migrant workers sat with their heads bowed and legs crossed, their hands cuffed behind their backs. They remained silent as officers searched their luggage and belongings. <\/p>\n
A fifth worker in handcuffs was later taken to the room and questioned by officers as they sifted through his wardrobe. <\/p>\n
The men\u2019s valuables were packed into clear bags and taken with them as they were escorted out.<\/p>\n
In another room, officers nabbed a sixth man. They found suspected drug utensils such as a glass bottle, cut straw and a rubber tube, and sealed them in an evidence bag.<\/p>\n
As the suspects were processed, their roommates in these 12-bedded rooms looked on warily.<\/p>\n
Dozens of workers watched from the common corridors as the men were led away, past a CNB poster on a fence which spells out an anti-drug message in Tamil: \u201cThrow away drugs; appreciate life.\u201d <\/p>\n In one room, four migrant workers sat with their heads bowed and legs crossed, their hands cuffed behind their backs. They remained silent as officers searched their luggage and belongings.\u00a0<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Around 1.20am on Nov 28, all the arrested men were taken away in unmarked vehicles for further investigations.<\/p>\n Superintendent Xanthus Tong Hyeng Ji, deputy commanding officer of CNB\u2019s Enforcement J Division, said the operation was part of the bureau\u2019s efforts against drug abuse, trafficking and other criminal activities.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cWe want to emphasise that drugs have no place in Singapore, be it in the community, workplace or dormitory.\u201d<\/p>\n CNB\u2019s annual statistics report in February said that the <\/p>\n total number of drug abusers arrested in 2024 was 3,119<\/p>\n <\/a>, down from the 3,122 nabbed in 2023.<\/p>\n However, the number of new abusers totalled 966 in 2024, more than the 952 arrested in 2023. The bureau\u2019s report does not identify drug abusers by their nationalities.<\/p>\n CNB\u2019s annual statistics report in February said the total number of drug abusers arrested in 2024 was 3,119, down from the 3,122 nabbed in 2023.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/picture><\/div>
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