26-year-old student arrested for buying cannabis online

By Lydia Lam
The Straits Times
Mar 4, 2017

A 26-year-old student has been arrested for buying cannabis online.

The Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) was alerted of a suspicious parcel that they suspected contained about 136g of cannabis on Friday (March 3).

The recipient of the parcel had used a fake identity, CNB said in a press release on Saturday (March 4).

After investigations, CNB identified the recipient as a 26-year-old Singaporean man, who had used an alias to evade detection.

CNB searched his home and found more drugs and drug paraphernalia including cannabis in vegetable, paste and powder forms, as well as 11 pieces of LSD stamps.

Investigations are ongoing.

CNB in its release said it will "continue to address the trend of youth drug abuse and online drug peddling through a comprehensive approach of enforcement, education and engagement".

Online drug transactions saw a close to sixfold increase in 2016 compared to 2015, CNB said in February. Last year, 201 people were arrested for buying drugs and drug-related paraphernalia online, up from 30 in 2015.

Most of them were between the ages of 20 and 39.

Drug syndicates and peddlers took advantage of the borderless nature of the Internet to conduct illegal drug activities, CNB said.

Just last month, CNB raided the home of a 46-year-old Singaporean at Admiralty Drive.

A total of 483 tablets suspected to be controlled drugs were recovered. Preliminary investigations indicated the suspect had purchased the tablets online.

A survey by the National Council Against Drug Abuse last year found that young people below 30 were more open-minded towards drugs, compared with the figure in 2013, Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam said on Friday (March 3).

This problem is compounded by the rise of drugs available online, with black market sites allowing users to buy them anonymously.

The Straits Times

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