From grit to grid

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.

- By KAREYST LIN

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, 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.