SINGAPORE — Tan Leng Chong, a 50-year-old Singaporean man wanted by local authorities, has been charged with abetting drug trafficking following his recent arrest in Thailand.
Tan appeared in a Singapore district court on 10 July 2025, a day after being extradited from Thailand and handed over to the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB).
He was apprehended by Thailand’s Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) on 5 July during a hotel raid in Bangkok, following coordinated investigations between Thai and Singaporean authorities.
Tan is accused of conspiring with another individual, N M Mahendran, to traffic a cannabis mixture outside Singapore before July 2024. Mahendran had allegedly possessed five blocks of cannabis mixture weighing at least 4,990.6 grams at Equatorial Apartments on Meyer Road.
Tan, dressed in a white polo tee, appeared briefly via video-link and acknowledged the proceedings. He remains in remand to assist in tracing the source of the drugs. His next court appearance is scheduled for 17 July 2025.
If convicted, Tan could face the death penalty under Singapore’s Misuse of Drugs Act, which classifies cannabis as a Class A controlled drug.
CNB said Tan became a suspect during investigations into a separate July 2024 drug case involving another Singaporean charged with trafficking nearly 5kg of cannabis mixture. Authorities discovered that Tan had fled Singapore in July 2023.
His arrest followed an international manhunt, leading to the discovery of over S$242,000 in frozen assets linked to him. CNB has also launched a money laundering probe against him.
According to Thai authorities, Tan used Thailand both as a refuge and operational base for drug trafficking. He was arrested in a Bangkok hotel alongside two Indonesian nationals suspected of being part of a smuggling ring.
The ONCB seized ecstasy, ketamine, and Erimin-5 during the raid. Reports by Bangkok Post and Thai state media confirmed that Tan had been hiding in Pattaya, Chonburi province, and was allegedly moving drugs from Thailand into Singapore.
