Singapore said to have drug cartel

Singapore said to have drug cartel

SINGAPORE (DPA): Syndicates in Singapore -- a nation known for
its strict intolerance of illegal drugs -- are believed to be
playing a key role in the international marketing of the drug
Ecstasy, reports in the island republic said yesterday.

Some 26 Singapore nationals have been held in other countries
for Ecstasy trafficking to date. Most had "secret society"
connections, the Straits Times newspaper reported.

Singapore's Central Narcotics Bureau recently cracked a ring
which offered Singaporeans Ecstasy "drug tours" of clubs on the
nearby Indonesian island of Batam. In the past five months, at
least five Singapore citizens have been arrested for smuggling
Ecstasy into Jakarta.

Singapore authorities lately have been taking desperate
measures to curb the rapidly rising use of Ecstasy, an
amphetamine derivative, in the prosperous nation's posh
discotheques and karaoke lounges.