SINGAPORE - Drugs worth more than $418,000 were seized from a Singapore-registered car at Woodlands Checkpoint on Tuesday (May 2) night, leading to the arrest of five suspected drug traffickers.

A joint news release by the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) on Wednesday said ICA officers had directed the arriving car - driven by a 35-year-old Singaporean man - for further checks at around 10.40pm.

Three plastic bags containing different boxes of items were found in the car.

Upon inspection, ICA officers uncovered Erimin-5 tablets hidden in a box of washing powder.

Officers from CNB were alerted and they conducted further checks, uncovering about 3.1kg of Ice, 2kg of cannabis, 1,700 Erimin-5 tablets and 60 Ecstasy tablets.

The driver was arrested.

In a follow-up operation at around 1.10am on Wednesday to arrest the suspected intended recipients of the seized drugs, CNB officers arrested three suspected drug traffickers in the vicinity of Woodlands Avenue 4.

A search conducted on the car of the first suspect, a 32-year-old Singaporean man, uncovered 17 Ecstasy tablets, 8g of Ice, cash amounting to $22,800, a digital weighing scale and numerous empty plastic sachets.

The car belonging to the other two suspects, a 27-year-old Singaporean man and 24-year-old Singaporean woman, was also searched and cash amounting to $12,250 was recovered.

CNB officers then conducted a search at the Pasir Ris residence of the 27-year-old man, recovering small amounts of Ice, ketamine and cannabis.

At about 5.35am, CNB officers arrested another suspected drug trafficker, a 25-year-old Singaporean man, in the vicinity of Orchard Towers.

ICA and CNB said investigations into the drug activities of all the arrested suspects are ongoing.