SINGAPORE, Sept 29 – Locals here have reportedly resorted to buying prescription drugs from "street peddlers” who sell medicine from sedatives such Valium and Xanax to codeine cough syrups from their bicycles.

According to Singapore’s Straits Times (ST), the illegal sellers have been spotted in the Geylang area despite several raids earlier this year by the country’s Health Sciences Authority (HSA).

The paper quoted former drug user Tan, who said he used to buy drugs from the "makeshift pharmacies” as it is too troublesome to get a prescription at the clinics.

"I’m still young but my cough syrup abuse has taken a toll on my back and kidneys. I now feel like an old man,” the 39-year-old was quoted saying.

ST reported that the peddlers were elderly men who hid their goods in a box attached to a bicycle, with buyers approaching them to collect their pills from the hidden stash.

Most of the customers were men aged 20 to 50, including some foreigners who bought in bulk and stored the pills in containers labelled as health supplements, with one peddler mentioning that digital payments could be tracked by authorities.

"I often saw people gathering near a locked bicycle in Sims Place and now it makes sense,” a resident called Miriam Lee reportedly said, calling for them to be arrested.

This comes even as the HSA raided a condominium in Geylang in May, where it and the police seized 165 litres of cough syrup and 57,000 pills, with an estimated street value of S$130,000 (RM418,000).

The authorities believe the condo unit was being used to manufacture and store these illegal medications.

"Taking these medicines inappropriately for non-medical uses or without medical supervision can be dangerous, as they can cause serious adverse effects including drowsiness, confusion, respiratory depression, hallucinations, as well as development of physical and psychological dependence,” an HSA spokesman was quoted saying.

Authorities also caution that buyers are gambling with their health as these illicit drugs may be counterfeit, substandard, or improperly stored.

HSA raids have seen growing seizures of illegal drugs, with over 737,000 units of illegal health products confiscated in 2022.

From 2021 to 2023, 31 individuals were prosecuted for their involvement in the illegal sale of cough syrup and sedatives.

Singaporean law stipulates that anyone caught selling or importing illegal medications faces up to two years in jail and fines of up to S$50,000.