Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Assessment of State and Impact of Using Social Media and Cryptocurrency Payments to Facilitate Drug Activity

Question:

Mr Derrick Goh: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the Ministry’s assessment of the state as well as the impact of the use of technologies such as social media and cryptocurrency payments to facilitate drug activity; and (b) whether there are plans to boost the capabilities of CNB and other agencies for their continued effectiveness in combating the proliferation of drugs in the digital sphere.

Answer:

Mr K Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law:

1.   The Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) is aware of the trend of drug traffickers exploiting social media, internet communications and cryptocurrency payment platforms to facilitate drug trafficking.

2.   To address this, CNB actively cooperates with social network services, e-commerce businesses, internet service providers, and technology companies, to detect and prevent the advertising of controlled drugs on such platforms. Drug activity facilitated by such closed communication platforms is a significant challenge and unless the platforms cooperate, the challenges will continue to grow.

3.   CNB continues to conduct operations against syndicates and persons who use social media to facilitate their drug trafficking activities. For example, CNB conducted a series of operations from 18 to 19 April 2023, targeted at drug transactions conducted through specific applications. A total of eight suspected drug traffickers and 26 abusers were arrested and an assortment of drugs, including 228g of cannabis, was seized.

4.   Further, the Ministry of Home Affairs will be introducing the Online Criminal Harms Bill this year, to deal with online activities which constitute a crime in Singapore. For instance, the Bill will provide the levers to require online services to disable access by Singapore persons to illegal content constituting a drug-related offence.