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.