Counsellors in Singapore race to tackle problem of online drug sales
As more turn to the internet to search for drugs, the number of people arrested for online sales jumps nearly seven-fold in two years
By Siau Ming En
At times disguised as health products, illegal drugs sold at popular e-commerce marketplaces have been attracting drug abusers, and counsellors and experts warned that this is becoming an easier avenue for addicts to get drugs.
Alarmed at how quickly the number of people buying drugs online has grown, they added that preventive education is the primary defence to address the problem.
The Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) released its annual drug statistics, and highlighted the sharp increase in online drug peddling as an area of concern. Last year, 201 people were arrested for buying drugs and drug-related paraphernalia online, a nearly seven-fold jump from 30 in 2015.
Countries such as New Zealand are also facing a similar issue, where websites such as Craigslist from the United States put up advertisements for the sale of a range of drugs that include marijuana and cocaine.
Mr Alfred Tan, chief executive officer of the Singapore Children’s Society, told TODAY that this problem is not surprising because it is in line with the general trend of people buying more things through the Internet. “What is probably more frightening is how fast it has grown,” he said.