Two Singaporeans convicted and sentenced for drug trafficking and money laundering

       Two Singaporean men, aged 30 and 31, have been convicted and sentenced by the High Court for offences involving drug trafficking and money laundering (ML) of drug proceeds. The two were sentenced to imprisonment of 27 years, four months, and 15 strokes of the cane, and 27 years, seven months and 15 strokes of the cane, respectively. Financial assets amounting to $20,272.86 were seized from them and $14,538 in cash were forfeited to the State.

Case Details

2.     The two men were arrested by officers of the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) in an anti-drug operation on 7 October 2020. During the arrest, a total of about 1,000g of ‘Ice’, 382g of cannabis, 32 ‘Ecstasy’ tablets, 10 Erimin 5 tablets, and cash and bank accounts amounting to $13,848.98 were seized from the 30-year-old. About 578g of ‘Ice’, 290 Erimin 5 tablets, 20 ‘Ecstasy’ tablets, and cash and bank accounts amounting to $6,423.88 were seized from the 31-year-old. CNB’s investigations revealed that the drugs seized were meant for sale and the amount of drugs can feed the addiction of about 950 abusers for a week.

3.     Further investigations revealed that the men were associates of a 58-year-old Singaporean who had conducted his drug trafficking activities out of Malaysia since 2018. The men were found to have aided the 58-year-old in trafficking and selling drugs in Singapore since July 2020. Both men then laundered the benefits they had obtained from their drug activities, amounting to a total of $118,283. The 58-year-old man was convicted earlier for drug trafficking and drug money laundering offences.¹

4.     On 24 February 2025, the 30-year-old man was found guilty and sentenced to an imprisonment term of 27 years, four months and 15 strokes of the cane, including six months’ imprisonment for one money laundering charge for possessing $12,150 worth of drug proceeds. On 17 March 2025, the 31-year-old man was found guilty and sentenced to an imprisonment term of 27 years, seven months and 15 strokes of the cane, including 18 months’ imprisonment for one money laundering charge for facilitating the transfer of $103,300 worth of drug proceeds.

5.     Under Section 53 (then 46) of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992 (CDSA), it is an offence for any person to inter alia acquire, possess, use, conceal, or transfer benefits of drug dealing. Under Section 50 (then 43) of the CDSA, it is an offence for any person to assist another to retain benefits of drug dealing. The maximum penalties for both offences are a jail term of up to 10 years, a fine of up to $500,000, or both.

6.     AC Ong Pang Thong, Director of Investigation Division said:

“This heralds the successful conclusion of one of CNB’s largest drug money laundering cases, where both the leader and the runners were convicted and sentenced for drug predicate and drug money laundering offences. Once again, CNB would like to thank our Malaysian counterparts, SPF, and the members of the Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism Industry Partnership (ACIP)² for their invaluable support in the investigations against this transnational syndicate. CNB will continue our enforcement efforts and conduct thorough investigations into the pernicious schemes and nefarious activities of drug traffickers that undermine the safety and security of our community. Those who cause harm to others for their personal gain will be dealt with according to the law and held fully accountable for their criminal actions.”

7.     The Government will continue to enhance our laws to ensure that they remain effective in addressing the evolving crime landscape and are aligned with the international standards set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)³.

CENTRAL NARCOTICS BUREAU
17 MARCH 2025

¹The 58-year-old man had been convicted and sentenced to 28 years and 9 months’ imprisonment for drug trafficking and drug money laundering offences on 30 December 2024. Please refer to the CNB News Release Read news release here, for more details.

²Established in 2017, ACIP is co-chaired by the Commercial Affairs Department of the SPF and the Monetary Authority of Singapore, with a Steering Group comprising the Association of Banks in Singapore and nine banks in Singapore. The private-public partnership works together to collaboratively identify, assess, and mitigate key and emerging money laundering and terrorism financing risks facing Singapore.

³The FATF is an intergovernmental body that develops international standards to fight money laundering, terrorism financing (TF) and proliferation financing (PF). Singapore is a member of the FATF.