2. Upon inspection, the ICA officers detected contraband cigarettes hidden within the consignment. A total of 2,600 cartons of contraband cigarettes were recovered from the lorry.
Lorry conveying the contraband cigarettes amongst boxes of frozen products
Total contraband cigarettes recovered from lorry
3. Three days later, on 4 January at about 12.50am, a Malaysia-registered bus was directed for checks on arrival at Tuas checkpoint. Upon further inspection, officers detected contraband cigarettes hidden beneath the bus and another built in between two front wheels of the vehicle. The bus was driven by a 44-year-old male Malaysian. A total of 1,151 cartons of contraband cigarettes were recovered from the bus.
Bus found with contraband cigarettes
Total contraband cigarettes recovered from bus
4. In all, 3,751 cartons of contraband cigarettes were recovered from the two vehicles. The potential duty and Goods and Services Tax (GST) evaded for the two cases amounted to about S$319,020 and S$29,630 respectively. Both subjects, the seized cigarettes and vehicles were handed over to Singapore Customs for investigations. The vehicles used in the commission of such offences are liable to be forfeited.
5. Our borders are our first line of defence in safeguarding Singapore's security. The security checks are critical to our nation’s security. The ICA will continue to conduct security checks on passengers and vehicles at the checkpoints to prevent attempts to smuggle in undesirable persons, drugs, weapons, explosives and other contrabands. The same methods of concealment used by contraband smugglers may be used by terrorists to smuggle arms and explosives to carry out attacks in Singapore.
IMMIGRATION & CHECKPOINTS AUTHORITY
4 JANUARY 2016