Back to top
ICA Officers Foiled Attempts to Smuggle Cigarettes on Barge Towed by Tugboat
Acting on a tip-off, Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers from the Coastal Command boarded and searched a barge towed by a tug boat alongside Jurong Wharf on 9 July 2003 at about 0810 hours. In the course of the search, ICA officers found two boxes containing a total of 50 cartons x 200 sticks of assorted duty unpaid cigarettes hidden under the canvas sheets amongst the cargo of cardboard boxes on the barge.
2 The market value of the cigarettes is estimated to be $3,861.75. The amount of Customs duty and GST payable is about $3,192.60 and $154.47 respectively.
3 Upon further investigation, five of the crew members admitted to trying to smuggle the cigarettes into Singapore. They were arrested and later handed over to Singapore Customs for further investigation. If found guilty, the offenders could be fined up to a maximum of 20 times the amount of custom duties and GST involved. Since 14 Mar 2003, ICA has tightened our security checks on passengers and vehicles/vessels at the checkpoints to prevent attempts to smuggle in undesirable persons, drugs, weapons, explosives and other contraband. ICA officers at the checkpoints maintain a high level of vigilance at all times and are trained to profile potential offenders. ICA also relies on information provided by members of the public to apprehend offenders and would like to advise the public against the smuggling of contraband goods into Singapore.
END OF NEWS RELEASE
Immigration & Checkpoints Authority
9 Jul 2003
2 The market value of the cigarettes is estimated to be $3,861.75. The amount of Customs duty and GST payable is about $3,192.60 and $154.47 respectively.
3 Upon further investigation, five of the crew members admitted to trying to smuggle the cigarettes into Singapore. They were arrested and later handed over to Singapore Customs for further investigation. If found guilty, the offenders could be fined up to a maximum of 20 times the amount of custom duties and GST involved. Since 14 Mar 2003, ICA has tightened our security checks on passengers and vehicles/vessels at the checkpoints to prevent attempts to smuggle in undesirable persons, drugs, weapons, explosives and other contraband. ICA officers at the checkpoints maintain a high level of vigilance at all times and are trained to profile potential offenders. ICA also relies on information provided by members of the public to apprehend offenders and would like to advise the public against the smuggling of contraband goods into Singapore.
END OF NEWS RELEASE
Immigration & Checkpoints Authority
9 Jul 2003