International inter-agency joint operation: Man wanted for drug trafficking in Singapore arrested in South Korea for drug-related offences

        On 9 April 2023, a 37-year-old Singaporean man was arrested by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA) for suspected drug-related offences in South Korea with three other associates, two of whom are female Singaporeans and the other is a female of a foreign nationality. 

2.      The 37-year-old man is suspected to be involved in coordinating and supplying drugs to associates in Singapore for their subsequent trafficking and sale in Singapore using encrypted chat applications.

3.      Immigration records showed that the 37-year-old man had left Singapore since 12 November 2021.

4.      Singapore’s Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB)’s intelligence indicated that the 37-year-old man had set up his base in South Korea to traffic drugs. CNB reached out to South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) and the SMPA for joint investigations into his activities. On 9 April 2023, SMPA arrested the 37-year-old man and his three associates. The 37-year-old Singaporean man and the female foreign national were charged for drug-related offences in South Korea and sentenced to jail. Upon completion of his jail sentence in South Korea, CNB will work with NIS and SMPA to facilitate the repatriation of the 37-year-old Singaporean man back to Singapore where further investigations will be conducted into his suspected acts of coordination and supply of drugs to associates in Singapore.

5.      In expressing appreciation to CNB’s Korean counterparts, SAC Leon Chan, Deputy Director of CNB for Operations, said:

“Drug trafficking is cross-border issue that affects many countries, and traffickers increasingly use encrypted chat applications to advertise the sale of drugs to new clients and to arrange for the delivery of the drugs. The successful arrest in this case is testament to the good relationship and close cooperation between CNB, NIS and SMPA in tackling the transnational nature of drug trafficking. For drug syndicate leaders and members who choose to feed their greed by bringing harm to our people in Singapore, CNB will spare no efforts to bring them to face justice in Singapore.”

CENTRAL NARCOTICS BUREAU, SINGAPORE
14 December 2023