PMSL – The drugs were hidden by fat Singapore Chinese men wearing ladies corsets!! People are fatter in Singapore and Malaysia than other countries in SE Asia; they are comparatively rich nations which have outlawed everything else apart from eating (which could be classed as a national sport).
Note second “mini article” of govt spin and justification for use of anti-terrorist law to nick him! the joys of state-controlled media in SE Asia..
LAWYER.
Road bully.
And now an accused international drug syndicate leader.
As a criminal lawyer, Edmund Wong Sin Yee, 47, was supposed to help his clients stay out of jail.
Today, he’s the one who needs help. He’s now in Changi Prison after being arrested by the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) in September.
The shocker: CNB alleges that he is the leader of a drug syndicate dealing in ketamine with street value running into millions of dollars.
Since his arrest, he has been held under the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act, a last-resort law which CNB has been using over the years to take drug syndicate bosses out of circulation.
Many such criminals would otherwise get away scot-free as no one would dare testify against them in court.
OFFICERS STUNNED
In an exclusive interview with The New Paper on Sunday, seasoned CNB officers revealed how even they were stunned when they first heard that Wong, a former criminal lawyer, was allegedly the brains behind a new drug syndicate.
He is said to have used even his former clients as his runners.
Wong was a familiar face to some officers as he had on many occasions represented drug offenders.
In April, this year, his name first appeared on CNB’s radar.
Two CNB officers from its intelligence division, ASP Ali and station inspector (SI) Larry (not their real names, as their work is confidential), received a tip-off that a suspended lawyer, named Wong, was a drug boss.
They checked with the Law Society and found a lawyer matching that description. His record showed a two-year suspension for assaulting another motorist during a traffic incident.
As they monitored his lifestyle, they found it strange that an unemployed person like Wong could own two Mercedes-Benz cars, one of which was a new Kompressor. They also learnt that he had a penchant for China girls.
But it was his alleged drug operations that sparked the CNB’s interest.
This is said to be Wong’s method of operation:
He recruited plump Singaporean men as drug couriers because it was harder to notice the drugs strapped to their bodies.
Wong allegedly operated his ketamine distribution in another country in the region. His couriers would travel empty-handed from Singapore and meet with other runners abroad.
Huddled in hotel rooms there, the couriers would strap the drugs to their bodies and smuggle the drugs into other Asian countries.
The syndicate was believed to be smuggling as much as 50kg of ketamine each time, using between four and five couriers over several days.
The total street value in Singapore for 50kg of ketamine is about $3 million and Wong’s clients were drug syndicates in those countries.
The countries cannot be named as investigations are still going on.
The CNB said Wong was careful not to import the drugs into Singapore.
‘They never made it here because of our stringent checks,’ said ASP Ali.
The market here is also too small, added SI Larry.
After several months of investigations, the CNB concluded that Wong was a cunning and careful adversary. He knew how CNB officers thought and worked.
ASP Ali said: ‘He probably used his knowledge of past contacts with our officers to plan his drug runs.
‘He knew that if his couriers were to do drug runs here, they would get into serious trouble.’
None of his couriers had previous drug convictions.
Instead, Wong targeted men with gambling addictions. Most of them had been convicted of gambling offences. They were his former clients, so he knew their weak spots.
Wearing women’s girdles, they would each strap 2kg of the white powdery substance to their bodies. The drugs were packed into eight small packets.
Said SI Larry: ‘That’s why the syndicate used middle-aged men with tummies so it would not look obvious.’
For every kilo they carried, they were paid up to $4,000. So, for each run, they could easily make $8,000.
Air tickets and hotel accommodation were paid for and they often flew on budget airlines.
Couriers paid for their own travel with money from their drug boss.
But there was no paper trail back to Wong. He would fly to the country first and allegedly make certain arrangements for his couriers. But he would still not touch the drugs.
Said ASP Ali: ‘Why dirty his hands when he has people to do it for him?’
They were still monitoring him when things changed on 10 Aug.
That was the day Wong had his licence to practise law reinstated.
Soon, he was giving out his name cards. The thought of a practising lawyer running a drug syndicate here drove CNB to change its tactics.
ASP Ali said: ‘When we got wind that he was distributing his name cards, we knew we had to act fast.’
The officers said it was during a period when some rogue lawyers got a ticking-off from the Chief Justice for tarnishing the legal profession that the CNB sharpened its probe on Wong.
‘We decided to go after Wong more intensively,’ SI Larry added. ‘We did not want the syndicate to expand because it would make it more difficult to get those involved.’
On 12 Sep, SI Larry and several other CNB officers nabbed Wong outside his Ang Mo Kio flat.
SI Larry said: ‘He demanded to know why we were arresting him. He wanted to know why we suspected him. When I told him we were doing a drugs investigation, he said: ‘Me take drugs?’
‘But he did not resist.’
Urine samples from Wong showed he had Nimetazepam, which is found in Erimin 5, a controlled drug here.
CNB declined to reveal more details about his arrest, citing security factors. Although the alleged mastermind is behind bars, CNB’s work goes on.
They are still trying to identify his suppliers. Several of his associates abroad have been arrested.
Said SI Larry: ‘If these arrests had not been made, more people would now be hooked on drugs.
‘He is not a normal criminal. He is a lawyer who used his knowledge of the legal system for monetary gains.
‘Getting him off the streets gives us a lot of satisfaction.’
CRIMINAL LAW ACT NEED TO DEAL WITH SERIOUS OFFENCES
THE Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act was introduced in 1955 to fight serious crime.
Half a century on, it is still relevant here, Senior Minister of State for Law and Home Affairs, Associate Professor Ho Peng Kee, told Parliament last September.
He had said that although the threat from secret societies, drug traffickers and crime syndicates may have lessened, it was still there.
Criminal masterminds were getting more sophisticated, and that was why the Act, which allows for preventive detention without trial, was still needed today.
Under the Act, offenders are either detained without trial or placed under police supervision orders.
Those under supervision orders have to inform the police of their whereabouts, may have to observe a curfew, or report to the police when called, among other restrictions.
Prof Ho had assured the House that the Act was used sparingly, and only in cases where there was fear of reprisal against witnesses.
He added that court prosecution was still the norm, and the number of people detained under the Act had been falling steadily.
In 2003, 211 people were detained, compared to 463 in 1998 and 1,263 in 1988.
The Act, passed in Oct 1955, must be extended by Parliament every five years.
Prof Ho said secret societies and illegal money-lenders were still active in some areas.
The threat of foreign gangs and triads infiltrating Singapore was also ever-present.
The heads of these syndicates now operated sophisticated schemes where they were far removed from actual activity. Instead, they used a system of runners, who, when caught, are too afraid or refuse to testify against their bosses.
The police or CNB must justify the use of the Act in every case to officials from the Ministry and Attorney-General’s Chambers.
An advisory committee comprising prominent private citizens also scrutinises the investigations and documentary evidence. This committee then makes a recommendation to the President.
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