Seized Cough Syrup Can Fill 1,250 Conventional Bottles For Medicine
Cough syrup is one of the most commonly abused drugs in Singapore.
For illustration purposes
Source
On Tuesday (3 Mar), the Health Sciences Authority (HSA), together with other agencies, seized $80,000 worth of illegal cough syrup and an assortment of other medicines.
Officers also arrested 9 suspects during the operation.
$80,000 worth of cough syrup and other illegal medicines seized
According to the HSA press release, authorities seized more than 125,000ml – or 125 litres – of codeine cough syrup during the operation.
To put things into perspective, the typical bottle you get from a clinic holds around 90ml of liquid medicine.
Image from MS News
Hence, the amount of illegal substance added up to roughly 1,250 bottles of cough syrup.
Apart from cough medicine, officers also seized 63,000 units of other drugs like cough suppressants.
The “total street value” of the drugs reportedly amounted to around $80,000.
Officers arrest 7 suspects in Geylang and Chinatown operation
The operation was a joint effort by multiple agencies:
- Central Narcotics Bureau
- Health Sciences Authority
- Ministry of Health
- Singapore Police Force
On Tuesday (3 March) officers successfully ambushed a suspect at Golden Mile Complex as he was pushing a trolley with bottles of cough syrup and other medicines.
Investigations later confirmed that the illegal drugs were for sale by illegal peddlers in Geylang.
Later that day, officers raided a coffee shop along Lorong 12 Geylang and a clinic at People’s Park Complex.
7 people between 26 and 69 years old were arrested and are assisting HSA with investigations.
A doctor is also helping HSA with their investigation over the illegal supply of medicines.
Anyone found guilty of importing, manufacturing and/or supplying illegal health products will face a jail sentence of up to 2 years and/or fined up to $50,000.
3 cheers to the HSA and other authorities
Kudos to the HSA and the other authorities for successfully carrying out the operation.
We hope those responsible for importing or manufacturing the illegal drugs will be dealt with severely to serve as a deterrence for others.
The availability of illegal drugs allows addicts to continue abusing substances, leading to serious health consequences.
Hence, checks like this will hopefully prevent addicts from endangering their own health.
Featured image adapted from HSA.
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