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Local model-DJ jailed 18 months for bringing psychedelic mushrooms into S’pore, consuming drugs

SINGAPORE — Singaporean club disc jockey and model Debbie Valerie Tenashar Long was sentenced to one-and-a-half years behind bars on Tuesday (March 26) for taking drugs overseas.

Singaporean club disc jockey and model Debbie Valerie Tenashar Long was sentenced to one-and-a-half years behind bars on Tuesday (March 26), after pleading guilty to one count of possessing 41.81g of psychedelic mushrooms and two counts of consuming cocaine and psilocin, a psychoactive compound found in most psychedelic mushrooms.

Singaporean club disc jockey and model Debbie Valerie Tenashar Long was sentenced to one-and-a-half years behind bars on Tuesday (March 26), after pleading guilty to one count of possessing 41.81g of psychedelic mushrooms and two counts of consuming cocaine and psilocin, a psychoactive compound found in most psychedelic mushrooms.

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SINGAPORE — Singaporean club disc jockey and model Debbie Valerie Tenashar Long was sentenced to one-and-a-half years behind bars on Tuesday (March 26) for taking drugs overseas.

The 33-year-old, also known as DJ Tenashar, pleaded guilty to one count of possessing 41.81g of psychedelic mushrooms, as well as two counts of consuming cocaine and psilocin, a psychoactive compound found in most psychedelic mushrooms.

Another count of possessing a controlled drug was taken into consideration for sentencing.

She had fled the country after being arrested in 2015, and only returned last year when her passport expired.

FLED S’PORE FOR 2.5 YEARS AFTER BEING ARRESTED

The court heard that Long was first arrested on Oct 28, 2015 at an arrival belt at Changi Airport. She had just returned to Singapore from a two-week-long trip to Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

After Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officers acted on information they had received to arrest her, they escorted her to the CNB office at the Bedok Police Divisional Headquarters.

They then found two containers labelled “Psilocybe Atlantis Forbidden Fruit” in her luggage.

Investigations later revealed that Long had bought the mushrooms in Amsterdam and brought them back to Singapore with the intention of consuming it.

An online search by TODAY found several shops based in the Netherlands selling it, with names such as “magic truffles” or “Atlantis mushroom truffles”.

Long also provided two urine samples, which contained psilocin and benzoylecgonine, a substance formed in the metabolism of cocaine in the body.

A few hours after Long was arrested, CNB officers escorted her back to her home, where they found a Nimetazepam tablet. Nimetazepam is a hypnotic drug and Class C controlled drug typically used to treat insomnia.

After Long was taken to the Police Cantonment Complex for further investigations, she was released on police bail.

However, she absconded from Singapore on Nov 15, 2015 despite knowing she needed to report to CNB. She only returned to Singapore about two-and-a-half years later on May 24, 2018 when her passport expired.

She was then arrested, and placed in remand two days later.

 

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EMBARRASSED BY HER ACTIONS

Deputy Public Prosecutor Nicholas Wuan sought 22 months’ jail for Long, saying that absconding while on bail was an aggravating factor.

The prosecutor also noted that Long had consumed two drugs considered to be the most dangerous under Singapore laws.

Long’s lawyer, Mr S S Dhillon, asked for 16 months’ jail for his client. He told the court that Long has experienced “a deep sense of embarrassment”, having been in the media spotlight since she was remanded.

He described his client as a “prolific Singaporean DJ who has achieved international fame in the DJ industry”.

He also said Long consumed the drugs in a country where they were not illegal, and that the CNB gave her permission to leave Singapore for a work gig overseas after her offences.

She had various reasons for staying overseas, he added, such as her “tumultuous personal relationship” with her ex-boyfriend Thurston Nolte, who is wanted by the CNB for similarly failing to report back in 2015 for drugs offences.

Mr Dhillon also revealed that Long suffers from several mental disorders, such as depression and hypnotic dependence syndrome, which were an added burden on top of her “stressful and demanding career”.

She is also a single mother with a 12-year-old daughter, who is being cared for by her ex-husband, he noted.

In sentencing Long, District Judge Kessler Soh told her: “This is the first time you are being convicted. I hope this is a lesson you will remember. Never ever consume drugs again, whether in Singapore or overseas.”

Possessing a controlled drug, consuming a specified drug and consuming a controlled drug all carry maximum sentences of 10 years’ jail and a S$20,000 fine.

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