SINGAPORE, Sept 5 — A man has been convicted of conspiring to import drugs after instructing another individual to fly a drone from Singapore to Johor, which later returned with a pouch of methamphetamine.
As reported in The Straits Times (ST), the district court on September 4 found 34-year-old Singaporean Helmie Shahrezza Shahrom guilty for his role in the case that unfolded at Kranji Reservoir Park in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to court documents, Helmie admitted to directing Mohamad Shahrezza Mohammad Zuhri to pilot the drone towards a beach near Pantai Lido in Johor.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Jotham Tay said Helmie claimed that he had no idea the drugs had been attached to the drone until it arrived in Singapore.
The Singapore Police Force detected the drone in the airspace above the park at around 6pm on June 17, 2020, and arrested both Helmie and Mohamad Shahrezza on the spot.
Another accomplice, Mohamad Hasri Ab Rahim, who acted as lookout, was detained the following day.
Court papers also identified a fourth man, Mohammad Nazri Jumat, who was in Malaysia and had secured a black pouch containing the narcotic to the drone before it was flown back to Singapore.
As the device was landing at the reservoir park, Hasri warned Helmie of nearby police presence, prompting him to detach the pouch and hurl it into surrounding bushes.
“The evidence is clear – Helmie was the person who had knowingly arranged for the drugs to be imported using the drone and coordinated the transaction in the first place,” Tay was quoted as saying by ST.
Investigations revealed that Hasri, struggling to source drugs amid pandemic restrictions, had turned to Helmie for help in April or May 2020.
Court documents showed that Helmie then engaged Mohamad Shahrezza to fly drones for “operations” smuggling narcotics into Singapore from Malaysia two or three times weekly at Kranji Reservoir Park.
Helmie, represented by lawyer Diana Foo, insisted he had ordered the drugs to be brought in separately by boat — his regular method — and did not expect the drone to be carrying drugs on June 17. The sentencing will be at a later date.
