S'porean man gets 28 years jail & caning for scheme to import meth into S'pore via drone

On Oct. 16, a Singaporean man was sentenced to 28 years in jail and 18 strokes of the cane for masterminding a scheme to bring drugs into Singapore using a drone.

According to The Straits Times, three other men involved in the case had already been sentenced to jail terms of between 12 and 14 years.

The incident

Helmie Shahrezza Bin Shahrom was found guilty on Sep. 4 earlier this year for his part in a four-man operation to bring drugs that he had ordered into Singapore that took place in June 2020.

Helmie and an associate, Mohamad Shahrezza bin Mohammad Zuhri, had been flying drones with drugs attached to them over the Singapore-Malaysia border using Helmie’s Malaysian contacts.

These flights would take place in Kranji Reservoir Park between April and May 2020, when Covid-19 restrictions were still in place in Singapore, with Shahrezza acting as the pilot.

Contact

On Jun. 17, Mohamad Hasri bin Ab Rahim contacted Helmie to buy 125g of “ice” at the cost of about S$4,000 to S$4,500 for the order.

Helmie then arranged for the drugs to be delivered, and in the evening Helmi, Shahrezza, and Hasri would go to the park to collect the drugs, with Hasri acting as a lookout.

The drone was flown to Pantai Lido in Johor, where the “ice” was attached to the drone in a black pouch by Mohammad Nazri Bin Jumat.

Interception

The Singapore Police Force detected the returning drone at around 5:50 pm and dispatched officers to investigate.

Hasri warned the other two of the police officers’ arrival, and Helmi and Shahrezza unsuccessfully attempted to dispose of the drone and hide the drugs.

However, the three men were caught by the SPF, with the drugs and drone both being found.

Trial

Helmie was the only one of the group to claim trial, saying that he did not know that the drone would be carrying drugs on the day he was caught, and that he had expected a boat instead.

He was ultimately found guilty of importation of drugs into Singapore and consuming a controlled drug in and outside of Singapore.

He was sentenced in court by District Judge Jasvender Kaur, who noted the severity of the offences and said that Helmie had controlled the operation, devising the plan.

Kaur also noted that Helmie had committed the offences whilst out on bail for two prior drug-related offences, including the possession of controlled drugs.

Parity

Helmie’s lawyer had argued that he should have parity in sentencing with the other three men, but Kaur said that parity did not apply as they were being sentenced for different charges.

Helmie’s charges were for the importation of more than 180g, while his compatriots were charged with importing 166g, although it was not explained in court why the amount of drugs was different.

Helmie has been in remand since he was arrested on Jun. 17 2020.

In addition to their jail terms, Hasri and Nazri were sentenced to 10 strokes of the cane each.

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