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TLDR: The Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) arrested over 100 suspected drug offenders in a week-long raid. Among them was a 16-year-old.
More thoughts: Merely being found with illegal drugs in your possession is punishable with up to 10 years’ jail and/or $20,000 fine.
There are many other offences associated with the illegal drug industry, such as manufacturing or trafficking illegal drugs, or causing a young person to commit drug offences, which carry much heavier penalties.
The report mentions that some young children were found on the premises where drug offences were being carried out. The CNB was quoted as saying that “appropriate arrangements were made to ensure that the welfare of the child was taken care of”. What does this mean?
Under the Children and Young Persons Act, where a child is in need of care or protection, for instance where the existing caregiver of the child is unfit or unable to exercise supervision over him and leaves him to be exposed to moral danger, the government can remove the child to temporary alternative care until the Youth Court decides on longer-term arrangements. Read more about the protective mechanism under the Children and Young Persons Act in Lex & Rex in The Race for Truth.