SINGAPORE - About 3kg of cannabis and 4,831 "yaba" tablets were seized by airport police at Changi Airport on Monday morning (July 9), after the arrest of a foreign man wanted for a previous offence.

The 27-year-man was arrested for an earlier case of forgery for the purpose of cheating when he entered Singapore, and airport police subsequently found the drugs in his luggage, said the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) and the Singapore Police Force in a joint press statement on Tuesday afternoon.

A 24-year-old foreign man, who was the intended recipient of the drugs, was arrested near Portsdown Road after follow-up investigations by the CNB.

"Yaba" tablets are also known as methamphetamine. In addition to the 4,831 tablets, 79 fragments of "yaba"tablets were also found hidden in a cellphone box in the luggage.

The cannabis was found hidden within canisters and boxes labelled as containing food items.

The 3kg of cannabis seized is enough to feed the addiction of more than 420 drug abusers for a week, said the authorities.

Investigations are ongoing.

The Misuse of Drugs Act provides for the death penalty for those convicted of trafficking more than 500g of cannabis.

The penalty for trafficking methamphetamine, a Class A controlled drug, is between five and 20 years' jail, with between five and 15 strokes of the cane. The penalty for consuming the drug is jail of up to 10 years and/or a $20,000 fine.