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Intel-led, tech-driven: How they’ve grown to keep our streets safe from crimes and drugs

Despite their distinctive roles, the 10 Home Team agencies work as one in their shared mission to keep Singapore safe and secure

BY KAREYST LIN | PUBLISHED 15 MAY 2025

Three Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officers stood poised for action outside the closed door of a shophouse. Their breaths were even, but their hearts raced.

A glance. A hand signal. Move.

As the door bursts open, chaos erupts. The suspect lunges, thrashing wildly to try and break free.

“Engaging in a struggle was common,” recalls Mr Ronie Chua Joseph (above), a former CNB officer who retired in 2015. “Sometimes the guy you take on is bigger than you. It’s not easy to cuff him, so your (teammate) must come in fast.”

Three Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officers stood poised for action outside the closed door of a shophouse. Their breaths were even, but their hearts raced.

A glance. A hand signal. Move.

As the door bursts open, chaos erupts. The suspect lunges, thrashing wildly to try and break free.

“Engaging in a struggle was common,” recalls Mr Ronie Chua Joseph (right), a former CNB officer who retired in 2015. “Sometimes the guy you take on is bigger than you. It’s not easy to cuff him, so your (teammate) must come in fast.”

In the 1980s, Mr Joseph says, every drug raid was risky. There were no detailed suspect profiles, no real-time intelligence, no backup a call away. CNB officers relied on grit and instinct.

“The fear was always with (us),” the 65-year-old animatedly recounts to The Straits Times in English with a smattering of Hokkien. “(Whoever’s behind the door) could be a (small-time drug abuser) or the head of a secret society.”  

Today, the battle against drugs has changed dramatically – it is fought on a united front. 

What spurred this transformation? The One Home Team approach, introduced in 1997 by then Minister for Home Affairs (MHA), Mr Wong Kan Seng.

Instead of tackling crime in silos, the 10 agencies under MHA work together as One Home Team. Each with a specific role, and a shared mission: To keep Singapore safe and secure.

The Home Team agencies adopt an intelligence-led approach and cutting-edge technology against crimes and drugs.

The Home Team agencies adopt an intelligence-led approach and cutting-edge technology against crimes and drugs.

This suspect was known to be unpredictable. Possibly violent.

As CNB officers stormed in for the raid, they weren’t just working off a name and an address. They had vital information: His history, his triggers and the suspicious activities that put him on their radar.

These data points matter, says Deputy Superintendent (DSP) Lucas Seah, deputy commanding officer of CNB’s G division.

“If he has a (history of violence), we’ll be on our toes a little more,” the 38-year-old says. “If he has ties to (immigration offenders), we will bring in the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority.”

Intelligence-sharing is central to the One Home Team approach, explains DSP Seah. On the ground, this translates to seamless coordination between agencies. 

DSP Ravinder Singh, a senior investigation officer from the Special Investigation Section in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), recalls a CNB-led joint operation at a year-end beach party in 2018.

Back then, he was the officer-in-charge of a Crime Strike Force at Bukit Merah West Neighbourhood Police Centre.

Partygoers danced under neon lights as midnight neared. Then, CNB officers moved in – flanked by the police.

“(Police officers) took charge of securing the area, crowd control, and assisting in arrests,” says DSP Ravinder Singh, 39, “while CNB focused on identifying drug offenders, making arrests and seizing illegal substances.”

The One Home Team approach “allows for a more coordinated command structure”, he adds, improving resource management, enabling real-time decision making and the rapid deployment of officers.

While CNB and SPF are at the forefront, another team stands ready to act when things take a dangerous turn.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) plays a key supporting role in drug raids, explains Captain (CPT) Farhan Tahar, a rota commander in SCDF’s elite Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (Dart).

Dart officers specialise in urban search and rescue, height rescue and water rescue operations.

They are trained in a wide array of skills and expertise – including rappelling, cutting and breaking through concrete slabs and steel reinforcement bars, and navigating confined spaces.

During a drug raid, subjects attempting to avoid detection and evade arrest may put themselves and others at risk, says CPT Farhan, 39. Dart officers are on standby to execute rescue operations when the need arises, he adds.

But their work isn’t limited to raids.

Sometimes, it’s a member of the public calling about someone behaving oddly near a ledge, he says. “When we arrive, we realise the person is (under the influence of drugs).”

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Different roles, one goal

The Home Team comprises the Ministry of Home Affairs Headquarters, seven Home Team departments and three statutory boards. They work together as one to ensure a safe and secure Singapore.

For drug offenders, arrest is just the beginning of the rehabilitation journey. “Real change comes from addressing the root causes of drug abuse,” says Superintendent (Supt) Ravin Singh (right).

The 42-year-old is second superintendent at the drug rehabilitation centre (DRC)’s Institution S1. 

Located within the Selarang Park Complex at Upper Changi, Institution S1 houses about 500 male first- and second-time drug abusers. 

Women drug offenders are housed separately at Institution A4 at Changi Prison Complex.

For drug offenders, arrest is just the beginning of the rehabilitation journey. “Real change comes from addressing the root causes of drug abuse,” says Superintendent (Supt) Ravin Singh (below).

The 42-year-old is second superintendent at the drug rehabilitation centre (DRC)’s Institution S1. 

Located within the Selarang Park Complex at Upper Changi, Institution S1 houses about 500 male first- and second-time drug abusers. 

Women drug offenders are housed separately at Institution A4 at Changi Prison Complex.

Supt Ravin Singh (above) explains that drug use often stems from a lack of family or social support. “So they (start) looking for guidance from other people”, and end up on the wrong path, he adds. 

The CNB organises preventive education and outreach programmes – such as talks at workplaces and schools – to drive home the dangers of drug abuse and addiction. 

For those who falter, rehabilitation offers a second chance.

“Here at DRC, we have the opportunity – and the time – to (help them address the root cause) through dedicated programmes,” Supt Ravin Singh says.

He taught geography at Meridian Junior College for seven years before making a bold career switch to corrections work. Today, Supt Ravin Singh oversees operations and rehabilitation for inmates at Institution S1.

He walks The Straits Times through the quiet, narrow corridors lined with classrooms, where inmates were engaged in rehabilitation courses.

These psychology-based programmes focus on helping drug abusers better recognise their triggers and overcome addiction.

Beyond tackling addiction, DRC provides skills training and education programmes to help inmates find jobs upon their release.

They can also join work programmes – such as helping out in the kitchen, bakery or laundry facility – to earn an allowance for personal items and snacks.

“Ex-offenders who remain employed are at a lower risk of reoffending than those who are not,” says Supt Ravin Singh. 

According to the Singapore Prison Service (SPS), five-year recidivism rate for DRC inmates have dropped from 48.9 per cent for the 2015 release cohort to 43 per cent for the 2019 release cohort.

The DRC also runs structured family programmes, like parenting workshops and bonding activities, to help inmates rebuild their ties with their family.

These initiatives will help “develop the inmates’ social and community capital to facilitate their reintegration into society”, says Supt Ravin Singh.

Towards the tail-end of their sentence, all DRC inmates are placed on community-based programmes – either at home, a work release camp, or a halfway house.

This enables them to gradually reintegrate in the community, Supt Ravin Singh says.

In 2024, the Singapore Prison Service (SPS) unveiled the Corrections 2030 initiative – aimed at strengthening rehabilitation programmes for inmates through technology and community partnerships.

Corrections 2030 takes a holistic approach in uplifting the inmates’ families to help break the cycle of re-offending and intergenerational offending, improving their employability, and mobilising the wider community to enhance the ecosystem of support for ex-offenders.

At our land, air and sea borders, another frontline force works tirelessly as the first line of defence to keep drugs – and other illegal goods – out of Singapore.

Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer Sergeant (SGT) Nurul Zafirah scans the steady stream of vehicles entering Singapore from Malaysia at Woodlands Checkpoint.

A slight hesitation, a nervous glance, or a suspicious-looking car – these are some of the details that catch her trained eye.

“Smugglers are constantly coming up with new modus operandi and (more) sophisticated (ways to hide drugs),” says the 31-year-old, “such as in tissue boxes and (steel) fire extinguisher cabinets.”

ICA officers use a combination of risk profiling, baggage scans and behavioural assessments to identify suspicious travellers and cargo, SGT Zafirah explains. 

If further checks are needed, CNB officers based at the checkpoints step in to conduct more in-depth investigations, and SPF deploys sniffer dogs from their K-9 unit to detect hidden narcotics in vehicles, luggage, and cargo.

Technology is a powerful tool for ICA officers. 

“We use handheld detectors like the Ionscan to detect trace amounts of drugs on a person’s (hands or belongings),” SGT Zafirah says.

How it works: Using a portable wand, officers swab the traveller’s hands or belongings. The disposable swab is fed into the portable desktop trace detector, which analyses and presents results in less than eight seconds.

Sometimes, suspicious persons are flagged to ICA officers even before they reach the checkpoints.

SGT Zafirah explains that ICA’s Integrated Targeting Centre (ITC) analyses data from pre-arrival information, such as flight manifests and electronic SG Arrival Card submissions, to identify high-risk travellers in real time.

The aim: Determine risks posed by travellers and conveyances before they enter Singapore.

Ground officers like SGT Zafirah are notified and ready to step in to conduct thorough investigations and searches on such travellers.

ITC was set up to support ICA’s New Clearance Concept (NCC) which was implemented in 2024. NCC uses biometrics and data analytics to enhance immigration processes and border security at the land, air and sea checkpoints.

With NCC, Singapore residents and visitors leaving the country can clear checkpoints without having to use their passports.

NCC was created by ICA with help from Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX), which develops science and technology capabilities for Home Team operations.

The result of this joint effort? Travellers enjoy a speedy, seamless clearance experience without compromising on security, SGT Zafirah says.

Even as technology reshapes Home Team operations, experienced hands like Mr Ronie Chua Joseph continue to make a difference.  

After a four-decade long career fighting drug crimes at CNB, he retired in 2015. But the urge to serve remains.

Just a few months later, he returned to duty – this time in ICA’s intelligence division, bringing his wealth of experience to a new frontier.

Now, Mr Joseph co-leads a team of four to track down and arrest individuals who have committed immigration offences.

But the fight against crime today is nothing like the unpredictable, high-risk operations of the 1980s, Mr Joseph says.

It is now a coordinated, multi-agency effort.

“Some of these immigration offenders may be involved in other offenses, including drug-related or other criminal activities,” Mr Joseph explains. “We work closely with CNB and other Home Team agencies to conduct multi-agency enforcement operations.”

The intelligence-led One Home Team approach is a powerful force, he adds, enabling officers across agencies to respond faster and tackle crimes more effectively.

In the fight to keep Singapore safe, the Home Team acts as one – always ready, always protecting our home.