CNA – A Singaporean man wanted for drug trafficking in the country has been arrested in South Korea where he was involved in a multinational syndicate selling narcotics on Telegram.
Singapore’s Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) said yesterday that the 37-year-old man was arrested in Seoul on April 9 and has been sentenced to jail. He will be repatriated to Singapore after completing his jail sentence in South Korea, said CNB, adding that it will conduct further investigations into the man’s suspected drug offences here.
“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,” said CNB in a news release.
According to South Korean media, citing a media release by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency yesterday, the 37-year-old man led a multinational drug network based in Seoul that distributed drugs to Singapore and Vietnam via Telegram. The Chosun Ilbo reported that the man promoted drugs through the chat platform and conspired with associates in Singapore to modify the drugs into other forms such as candy or jellies.
South Korean media said this is the first time that local authorities have uncovered a foreign network based in the country selling drugs overseas using Telegram.
Three of the man’s associates – two Singaporean women and another woman of foreign nationality – were also arrested, said CNB.
