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SINGAPORE \u2013 The number of drug arrests at the border checkpoints has surged, with the authorities saying drug traffickers have been trying new ways to avoid detection.<\/p>\n
On Sept 29, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) said they made 975 drug-related arrests at the checkpoints in 2025, up 53% from the 635 in 2024.<\/p>\n
The cases were for drug importation, possession and consumption, with the drugs often found hidden within personal belongings or vehicular compartments.<\/p>\n
ICA and CNB said the jump is in part due to the 1,417 joint operations held by the Home Team agencies at the checkpoints in 2025, a 34% increase from 1,053 in 2024. They added that it was also due to the evolving drug threat, with traffickers adapting their methods and exploring new ways to evade detection.<\/p>\n
In July 2025, over 25kg of cocaine was found hidden<\/span><\/a> inside stuffed toys<\/span><\/a> carried in the luggage belonging to a group of women at Changi Airport Terminal 4\u2019s transit area.<\/p>\n The bust followed the exchange of intelligence between CNB and the Narcotics Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force, which resulted in five women being arrested.<\/p>\n On Sept 23, ICA officers at Tuas Checkpoint found 9kg of drugs disguised as sealed commercial biscuit packets<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n The drugs were found hidden in the storage box of a Malaysia-registered motorcycle and the Malaysian rider was arrested.<\/p>\n A Singaporean man was arrested that day in relation to the smuggling attempt after officers found 1.5kg of drugs in a follow-up operation in Tampines.<\/p>\n According to the World Drug Report 2025<\/span><\/a>, drug abuse has reached an all-time high.<\/p>\n But the overall situation in Singapore remains stable<\/span><\/a>, with 3,208 drug abusers arrested here in 2025, and 3,175 in 2024.<\/p>\n ICA and CNB said they combine technology, intelligence and enforcement expertise to safeguard Singapore\u2019s borders.<\/p>\n On Sept 29, Checkpoint Inspector Muhamed Salmin Mohamed Sadli, the group leader of an ICA search and examination team at Woodlands Command, spoke to the media after a joint operation at the Woodlands Checkpoint.<\/p>\n He said detection efforts involve both profiling by officers on the ground and enhanced targeting by the Integrated Targeting Centre.<\/p>\n The centre, which was set up to support ICA\u2019s New Clearance Concept that was implemented in 2024<\/span><\/a>, uses information and data analytics to identify higher-risk travellers, vehicles and cargo. Arriving travellers and vehicles are referred for enhanced checks, allowing for a more targeted approach.<\/p>\n Muhamed Salmin said: \u201cWe are also trained to identify tell-tale signs, such as travellers\u2019 body language, as well as signs of modifications in vehicles, and sieve them out for further checks.\u201d<\/p>\n The technologies used at the checkpoints include X-ray scanners, explosive and narcotic trace detectors, saliva test kits<\/span><\/a> and drug identification kits that show test results within minutes.<\/p>\n Separately, the New Clearance Concept has allowed ICA officers to be redeployed from manual counter duties to higher-value functions such as profiling and conducting targeted interviews and investigations.<\/p>\n They are trained through role-play, gamification, simulation and small-group discussions.<\/p>\n This is aided by technologies such as 3D renderings of different vehicles, allowing them to more effectively learn about concealment areas and their tell-tale indicators of the different models.<\/p>\n Guo Jingwen, the deputy commanding officer of CNB\u2019s Enforcement L Division, said wider drug trafficking activities are disrupted through follow-up action beyond the checkpoints.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cWhen a suspected drug case is detected at a checkpoint, CNB will assess and follow up on relevant leads. This may lead to further investigations, arrests and drug seizures inland.<\/p>\n \u201cWe remind Singapore citizens and permanent residents that consuming controlled drugs overseas remains an offence under Singapore law.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n SINGAPORE \u2013 The number of drug arrests at the border checkpoints has surged, with the authorities saying drug traffickers have been trying new ways to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":88928,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-88927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=88927"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88927\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/88928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=88927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=88927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=88927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Joint operation<\/h2>\n
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