On 27 December 2018, Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers at Pasir Panjang Scanning Station conducted checks on a Singapore-registered truck carrying a 20-footer container. Officers had noticed anomalies in the scanned images of the consignment declared as rockwool insulations.

2          During the course of checks, officers from ICA found a total of 7498 cartons and 16 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes hidden among the consignment in the container. The case was handed over to Singapore Customs for further investigation.

3          The total duty and Goods and Services Tax (GST) evaded amounted to about $640,460 and $46,940 respectively.

4          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, cargos and vehicles at the checkpoints to prevent attempts to smuggle 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
2 JANUARY 2019

 

Photos

  
Duty-unpaid cigarettes uncovered from the Singapore-registered lorry. [Photo: ICA]

The container where duty-unpaid cigarettes were found within the consignment declared as “rockwool insulations”. [Photo: ICA]