Corpun file 1435 at www.corpun.com

The Sunday Times, Singapore, 21 September 1997

Dirty pyjamas used to smuggle cannabis into jail

FIVE prisoners figured that they had come up with a foolproof way to smuggle drugs into Changi Prison.

They were certain no prison officer could discover a few sticks of cannabis stashed among more than 10 tonnes of dirty hospital bed linen brought to the jail's laundry every day.

The wife of one of the prisoners played a key role. An attendant in a hospital, she obtained the cannabis from an ex-convict and pinned it to the pocket of a pyjama top.

She placed the pyjamas and other soiled linen in one of the many laundry bags, marking the one containing the drugs for easy identification.

However, prison intelligence officers got wind of the fact that some prisoners were smoking cannabis during their recreation time.

They investigated and found out how the drugs had been smuggled in.

Working with Central Narcotics Bureau officers, they intercepted the next shipment of linen and drugs.

The woman and the ex-convict were arrested for drug trafficking. The five prisoners involved were caned and their jail terms were extended.

Deputy Superintendent Kwa Chee Ngee, 49, who heads the prison's intelligence unit, recounted this incident recently to The Sunday Times, which had asked about the work of his little-known unit.