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SINGAPORE: Two men, suspected to be drug offenders, have been arrested after a loaded firearm was found during a raid in Jurong West, the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) and the Singapore Police Force said in a joint news release on Wednesday (Oct 9).

On Monday, the police were informed by CNB that a 24-year-old suspect was in possession of a firearm.



The suspect was arrested the next day at the void deck of a residential block near Jurong West Street 72, in an operation conducted by the police and CNB.

He was escorted to his flat, where the firearm was found. No drugs were found.

The police told CNA that the firearm was loaded with four bullets. Another four bullets were found in the flat.



Further investigations revealed that a second man had knowingly been in the company of the 24-year-old man, despite being aware that he was unlawfully possessing a firearm, police said.

The 25-year-old was arrested on Wednesday at about 2.30am.

"In the course of our work, we do come across cases where drug offenders are sometimes prepared to resort to violence and use even firearms," said CNB's intelligence division director, Supt Aaron Tang.

"This poses a clear and present threat to society, and it also poses a danger to our frontline officers who need to enforce the law."

This is the first case since 2009 involving the illegal possession of firearms.



The suspects will be charged in court on Thursday.

If found guilty of being in unlawful possession of any arm or ammunition, the first suspect faces between five and 10 years' jail and at least six strokes of the cane.

The second man "shall be liable on conviction to the like punishment as that other person with whom he was consorting or in whose company he was found", CNB and the police said.