https://www.asiaone.com/singapore/wanted-young-tenants-rent-condo-store-vapes-and-take-fall?utm_source=a1home&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=A1+trending&utm_content=c1
Veteran criminal lawyer Ramesh Tiwary said criminal organisations could be flooding the market to make vapes readily available, to increase the number of addicts or new users.
"It is business to them, and of course if they can increase their customer base, it will make sense to them," he added.
Mr Mukkam said demand for vapes and laced vapes could remain strong in spite of the enhanced measures.
He added: "(Vape) sentences are tough, but they do not yet reach the death penalty or decades-long imprisonment that accompanies trafficking of hard drugs.
"This 'high profit, relatively lower risk' equation makes vapes a lucrative sideline for syndicates that already have smuggling infrastructure for cigarettes, alcohol or drugs."
Wanted: Young tenants to rent condo to store vapes and take the fall
SINGAPORE - Criminal syndicates peddling e-vaporisers in Singapore are using young people to rent homes to store e-vaporisers, in a scheme that sees the tenants taking the fall during a bust.
It involves the tenant signing a rental agreement and then handing over the keys and control of the unit to the syndicate.
Although a year's worth of rent is paid in advance, the organised crime groups typically stay for about a month before moving to another unit to avoid detection.
The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) said it is aware of the scheme, adding that feedback which it received has led to the discovery of eight such storage units since 2024.
"HSA has been actively tracking online listings, social media posts and messaging platforms 24/7 to detect and remove illegal advertisements and posts.
"We work with Telegram to remove e-vaporiser-related advertisements and also acted on public feedback, leading to the discovery of e-vaporiser storage units," said a spokesperson, adding that more than 600 Telegram groups advertising the sale of vapes were removed in 2024.
The Straits Times, in collaboration with Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao, first learnt of the scheme in late July.
The syndicates had been posting advertisements on Telegram and Instagram, where they promise to pay $60 for viewing a property, and a further $1,000 once a lease is signed.
There are also roles for delivery drivers, fund handlers and packers - fronts for money laundering and trafficking of vapes.
The scheme involves a network of shell companies that could include those in the construction trade.
Those who take on the tenant role are told they would be listed as employees of the firms - a cover if they are caught during a raid of the rental properties.
The "employees" are told to explain that they were hired to rent the units to accommodate migrant workers.
ST contacted two advertisers on Sept 2.
The first gave his name as Jojo. He said his team was looking for people to rent condominium units to store vapes and their components.
"All you need to do is to show up at the property after we set up a viewing. You can sign the contract with the agent on the spot if everything goes well," he said.
The syndicate prefers estates with side gates, and those that are close to MRT stations and other amenities.
Jojo said the tenant would be paid via a bank transfer from a "clean" banking account, but he would have to provide copies of his NRIC and details of a bank account.
Those who create a cryptocurrency wallet will be paid more.
Jojo said his team would take control of the bank account for $300 a month. For the crypto wallet, they pay $500 a month.
He added: "Usually, we will rent the units for a year - but we will only stay for around one month before moving. You know how the situation is now.
"We will need you to rent a new unit every month, but some people sign more units to earn more money."
He said that this is a red flag.
"Only one person who worked with me has been caught - but he got greedy by signing five condos in a month.
"Since that incident, I have reduced the number of rentals every month for everyone. I told everyone not to risk it, because if someone gets caught, our stock gets seized too," he added.
Shell companies
Jojo said another team of "workers" is responsible for moving and storing the supplies.
"You just concentrate on renting the house, we have workers for other roles. This way, you will not be implicated even if you really get caught," he said.
He added that once the viewing is completed and the rental contract is signed, he would provide another address for the keys and access cards to be handed over to one of his associates.
"You just have to GrabExpress the keys over to the provided address. Once my worker receives the keys, we will transfer the $1,000 to you," he said.
A Grab spokesperson said the company maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards any form of criminal activity on its platform, and that anyone found to be transporting vapes can be suspended or banned from the app.
Grab will fully co-operate with the authorities to support investigations where there is evidence of criminal wrongdoing, the spokesperson added.
A spokesperson for Lalamove similarly said it has a zero-tolerance policy against the delivery of illegal or restricted items.
Another advertiser, who called himself Jerome, said he was similarly looking for someone to rent a unit and hand over the apartment for his use.
He said he needed the units to store vape supplies, but added that the person renting the properties would not need to come into contact with the supplies.
"You will go to (the) viewing and once we confirm with (the) agent already, then you go down to take over the unit."
Jerome added that each person could rent up to three units a month, depending on their comfort level.
Jojo said shell companies in the construction trade have been registered to conceal their activities.
"We will draw up a contract for you as a cover. Basically, this contract will show that we hired you under a construction company.
"So, let's say if something really happens, you can tell the police that you were hired by this company to rent units to house migrant workers," he said.
Jojo added: "You can tell the police that this company has not been paying you, so in this case you will be the victim of a scam. In the eyes of the law, you will be the victim."
It later emerged that Jojo and Jerome work with the same syndicate.
ST and ZB also found a third advertiser looking for people to work in the illegal vaping industry. The ad was traced to a company formerly located in the Central Business District.
ST and ZB visited the address on Aug 26 and found that it was a co-working office.
An employee of the co-working office said the company was its client between May and July 2024. The contract was terminated after the company became embroiled in a police case, the employee said.
The employee declined to reveal the nature of the police case.
ST visited the residential address linked to the sole director of the company. His family said they are unaware of his whereabouts.
When ST contacted Jojo again on Sept 12, to reveal that he had been speaking to a reporter, he changed his story and claimed that he was not involved in the vaping business.
"I am just a marketer who (doesn't) know anything other than helping people to source the right candidates for their jobs," he said, adding that he and Jerome are both working as recruiters.
He claimed that a client, based in India, had hired him to recruit people to rent homes but denied knowing the reasons for the lease.
When confronted with audio recordings, which had him explaining in detail how the vape syndicate operates, Jojo insisted he had no knowledge of the illegal business.
Organised crime
Large hauls between 2021 and 2024 indicate organised crime groups are involved in the vaping trade here, with separate seizures worth $2 million, $5 million and $6 million by the authorities.
On Sept 10, the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) busted a syndicate allegedly operated by young suspects.
In a series of raids, CNB officers arrested eight suspects ranging from 18 to 29 years old, and seized over 400 vape pods believed to contain etomidate.
Some of the vapes were recovered from an HDB flat in Telok Blangah, which is said to be a rental unit.
Although vaping falls under the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Act, the Government announced on Aug 28 that the authorities would be able to use other laws to tackle syndicate activities.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Home Affairs said stronger action can be taken under the Organised Crime Act (OCA), Online Criminal Harms Act (OCHA), and Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act (CDSA).
"The inclusion of these vaping offences under the OCA, OCHA and CDSA will strengthen the actions that can be taken against vape-related organised crime activity, such as the disruption of online content that advertises e-vaporisers to users in Singapore and confiscation of proceeds from e-vaporiser sales," said the spokesperson.
Lawyer Roy Paul Mukkam of A.W. Law said the move to list some tobacco-related offences under the OCA and CDSA empowers enforcement agencies to go beyond prosecuting end-sellers or consumers.
They could ultimately target the individuals who run the syndicates, the financiers, and cross-border supply chains behind the trade, while also seizing profits obtained.
"When you are talking about operations over the last two years that yielded over $40 million worth of vapes, it is hard to believe this is just a few individuals trying their luck," said Mr Mukkam, pointing to HSA's announcement of more than $41 million worth of vapes being seized between January 2024 and March 2025.
"This isn't petty smuggling any more. It has all the hallmarks of organised crime," he said.
Veteran criminal lawyer Ramesh Tiwary said criminal organisations could be flooding the market to make vapes readily available, to increase the number of addicts or new users.
"It is business to them, and of course if they can increase their customer base, it will make sense to them," he added.
Mr Mukkam said demand for vapes and laced vapes could remain strong in spite of the enhanced measures.
He added: "(Vape) sentences are tough, but they do not yet reach the death penalty or decades-long imprisonment that accompanies trafficking of hard drugs.
"This 'high profit, relatively lower risk' equation makes vapes a lucrative sideline for syndicates that already have smuggling infrastructure for cigarettes, alcohol or drugs."
Need support around vaping or addiction?
To report vaping offences: Contact Health Sciences Authority’s Tobacco Regulation Branch at 6684-2036 / 6684-2037 (9am to 9pm daily) or https://www.go.gov.sg/reportvape
To quit vaping: Contact Health Promotion Board’s I Quit programme at 1800-438-2000 (8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday) or https://www.healthhub.sg/programmes/iquit/e-cig/
For more addiction or substance abuse support:
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
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