Five teenagers aged 14 to 16 arrested for suspected trafficking of cannabis
Five teenagers aged 14 to 16 have been arrested for suspected trafficking of about 226g of cannabis worth close to $7,000 in two separate cases.
In addition to the drug, Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officers seized food products believed to be infused with cannabis, and drug utensils, the Bureau said on Thursday.
The five teenagers arrested in operations in October are students from local and international schools, and comprise three 14-year-old and two 16-year-old teenagers.
CNB said officers of the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) had detected a parcel containing suspected drug paraphernalia at the Singapore Post Centre’s parcel post section, where ICA officers screen for dangerous and prohibited items using X-ray technology that works with a constantly-moving conveyor system.
The case was then referred to CNB and its officers arrested the two 16-year-old suspects, a boy and a girl, in Bukit Batok Street 21. About 59g of cannabis and various drug paraphernalia were seized from the girl’s home.
As for the other case involving the three 14-year-olds, CNB said one of the teens, accompanied by his father, had surrendered about 115g of cannabis at a Neighbourhood Police Post.
The youth was later escorted to his home, where about 52g of cannabis and food products believed to be infused with cannabis were seized.
The other two 14-year-old boys were arrested in a follow-up operation, one in the Clementi Road area and the other in Serangoon Road.
CNB officers also recovered food products believed to be infused with cannabis from a residential block in the vicinity of Serangoon Road.
In a statement, CNB said well-founded research has shown that cannabis use can lead to short- and long-term adverse effects, including cognitive impairments to youth abusers’ developing brains.
“These findings corroborate with Singapore’s position that cannabis should remain an illicit drug,” added the Bureau.
Assistant Commissioner Lim Fung Suan, CNB’s director of enforcement division sector 2, urged parents to talk to their children about the harms of drugs, and to pay attention to their friends and activities..
“We believe that preventive education is key and CNB will continue to work closely with our partners in schools and the community, so that everyone is made aware of the harms of drug abuse, and can help to spread the anti-drug message and caution their loved ones against getting involved in drugs,” he added.
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