Singapore Customs worked with the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) on 28 January 2018 to monitor the entry of a Malaysia-registered bowser truck which was suspected to be delivering duty-unpaid cigarettes from Malaysia into Singapore.

2.            At about 3.45 am that day, an ICA officer directed the bowser truck, which was driven by a Malaysian man, for inspection at the Woodlands Checkpoint. During the inspection, the ICA officer noticed anomalies in the scanned image of the bowser, and immediately alerted Singapore Customs.

3.            Singapore Customs officers conducted a follow-up operation at Tuas View Crescent. At the location, the officers saw two Singapore-registered trucks parked next to the bowser truck. Three men were seen alighting from one of the trucks and transferring goods from the bowser to the other truck. Singapore Customs officers immediately moved in to conduct a search and found a total of 4,567 cartons and 80 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes in the bowser and the other truck. The three men, all Indian nationals, were immediately placed under arrest, while the Malaysian driver was arrested on the same day at the Tuas Checkpoint. 

4.            The duty-unpaid cigarettes, bowser truck, and the other two trucks were seized. The total duty and Goods and Services Tax (GST) evaded amounted to about $355,020 and $26,310 respectively.

5.            Investigations are ongoing. 

6.            Buying, selling, conveying, delivering, storing, keeping, possessing or dealing with duty-unpaid goods are serious offences under the Customs Act and the GST Act. Offenders can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty and GST evaded and/or jailed for up to six years. Vehicles used in the commission of such offences are also liable to be forfeited.

7.            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.

An ICA officer detected anomalies in the scanned image of the bowser truck and alerted Singapore Customs. Singapore Customs officers conducted a follow-up operation at Tuas View Crescent. [Photos: Singapore Customs]

Three men, all Indian nationals, were seen transferring cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes from the bowser truck to another truck. They were arrested on the spot by Singapore Customs officers. [Photo: Singapore Customs]

A total of 4,567 cartons and 80 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes were seized in the operation. [Photo: Singapore Customs]

 

IMMIGRATION & CHECKPOINTS AUTHORITY
SINGAPORE CUSTOMS
30 JANUARY 2018