SINGAPORE: A Singaporean man wanted for drug trafficking has been arrested following his deportation from Thailand, the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) said on Thursday (Sep 19).
The 31-year-old was arrested by Thai authorities on Tuesday, and subsequently deported and handed over to CNB. Multiple Thai media reports identifed the suspect as Benny Kee Soon Chuan.
He will be charged on Friday with drug trafficking offences.
The man’s suspected links to drug trafficking was uncovered over the course of CNB’s investigations into two other drug trafficking cases in December 2020 and November 2022.
“The accused persons in those cases, two Singaporeans aged 21 and 29 at time of arrest, were charged for trafficking in substantial amounts of methamphetamine separately,” said CNB.
The former has since been sentenced to 22.5 years’ jail with 15 strokes of the cane, while the latter was jailed for eight years with seven strokes of the cane.
An arrest warrant was issued for the 31-year-old for his alleged involvement in supplying drugs to associates in Singapore, but immigration records showed that the man had been out of Singapore since Apr 11, 2016.
CNB then reached out to its foreign counterparts for information on his whereabouts.
According to Thai media, the man was tracked down by local authorities to a residence in Samut Prakan province, which is just south of Bangkok.
He was found to be “living in luxury”, despite having no reported means of employment or income.
Thai media added the authorities had acted after a tip-off from CNB and cited the head of Thailand’s drug enforcement agency.
The man had allegedly sent drugs such as Ice, ketamine and ecstasy from Thailand to Singapore and Australia via international mail.
The Bangkok Post reported assets worth 15 million baht (US$453,000) were also seized from the man, who is believed to have entered Thailand on a Vanuatu passport.
Rolex watches, gold chains, rings, amulets and cash in various currencies were among the items seized, as seen in photos of the arrest.
Investigations into other members of the syndicate are ongoing, said CNB.
“We thank our Thai counterparts for the close cooperation and swift action to bring the suspect back to Singapore to face the law,” added CNB acting director Leon Chan.
“Drug syndicates exploit global interconnectivity to operate remotely, creating threats that extend far beyond borders and inflicting profound impacts on the safety and security of our local community.”
