Malaysian-Indian jailed for drug trafficking in Singapore

Singapore, November 21

A 25-year-old Indian-origin Malaysian was sentenced to 10 years in jail and ten strokes of the cane for drug trafficking in Singapore.

Devendran Shanugam, a cleaner at a community centre in Singapore, pleaded guilty to two charges of attempted possession of drugs with the common intention of trafficking, according to a Channel News Asia report on Tuesday.

He was sentenced to 10 years in jail and ten strokes of the cane on Monday.

He came to know about a drug trafficking “opportunity” from his supervisor, 29-year-old Malaysian-Indian Tiben Raj Anbalagan.

Tiben Raj owed money to an unidentified person he called “Boss”, and to earn the cash for the repayment, he agreed to traffic drugs for the man – diamorphine, cannabis and methamphetamine.

When Devendran came to know about this, he told Tiben Raj that he had previously delivered drugs and offered to do the deliveries for payment.

The pair began collecting an assortment of drugs and stashing them in their cleaners’ storeroom.

Between January and May 2022, Devendran collected and delivered drugs on 16 occasions. He was paid SGD 500 to SGD 2,000 for each delivery.

Their crimes unravelled when the authorities arrested a man who was to pass heroin and methamphetamine to the pair.

The Central Narcotics Bureau arrested Devendran on May 19, 2022, when he picked up the mock drugs set up by the bureau and walked towards the front of the block to meet Tiben Raj.

Tiben Raj initially escaped but was later arrested. The case against him is still pending, according to the report.