Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Current Percentage of Uncovered Drug Operations and Transactions That are Conducted Via Encrypted Chat Applications

Question:

Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs whether the Ministry can provide an update on what is the current percentage of uncovered drug operations and transactions that are conducted via encrypted chat applications.

Answer:

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

1.   Drug traffickers and abusers employ various communication methods to coordinate and conduct their transactions, including encrypted chat applications, such as Telegram and Whatsapp, phone calls and meetings in person.

2.   For example, the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) has observed that traffickers increasingly use encrypted chat apps to advertise the sale of drugs to new clients and to arrange for the delivery of the drugs.

3.   We are unable to provide the percentage of uncovered drug operations and transactions that are conducted via encrypted chat apps for operational security reasons.