KUALA LUMPUR, Sept. 15 -- A Johor Bahru-based NGO has warned of syndicates recruiting local youths as couriers to smuggle vapes and cigarettes into Singapore, citing 77 such cases between October 2024 and July 2025.

The Singapore Accident Help Centre said young men are being lured with quick cash to deliver packages across the Causeway, often under the impression they are carrying harmless goods.

Social worker Farizatul Firdaus told The Straits Times that most of those recruited were jobless, making them easy targets.

Among them are Haz and Amin (not their real names), both in their early 20s, who said they were promised RM1,000 to deliver boxes described as "betel leaves" to Singapore.

They made one trip successfully but were caught ...