Over the past two days, three cases of contraband cigarettes smuggling had been detected at the Woodlands Checkpoint. The same method of concealment could similarly be used to smuggle dangerous materials such as weapons or explosives into Singapore.

    2. The first case happened on 1 July 2015 at about 7.20am. A Malaysia-registered car arrived at the Woodlands Checkpoint and was directed for further checks. The car was driven by a 31-year-old male Malaysian. Our officers uncovered a total of 246 cartons of contraband cigarettes in the modified floorboard of the car.

  

Photo Source: ICA (Contraband cigarettes hidden in modified floorboard of car)

    3. On the same day, shortly about an hour later, at about 8.40am, ICA officers directed another Malaysia-registered car for routine checks upon arrival at the checkpoint. The car was driven by a 26-year-old male Malaysian. A total of 96 cartons and 948 packets of contraband cigarettes were found concealed in various parts of the car.

 
Photo Source: ICA (From left: Contraband cigarettes hidden in modified boot and glove compartment)  

    4. On the following day, 2 July 2015 at about 3am, a Malaysia-registered lorry driven by a 35-year-old male Malaysian was stopped by ICA officers for arrival checks. The consignment, declared as “3,200 cartons of assorted packet drinks” was directed for further inspection after officers noticed anomalies in the scanned image. 

    5. During the course of checks, our officers had uncovered cartons of contraband cigarettes in sealed packages placed amongst the consignment of packet drinks. Further checks uncovered more contraband cigarettes hidden in the rear compartment and tool box compartment of the lorry. A total of 959 cartons were seized.

  
Photo Source: ICA (Lorry with the “consignment”)

Photo source: ICA (Total exhibits seized from the lorry)

    6. The potential customs duty and GST for all three cases amounted to about S$108,314 and S$10,337 respectively. All persons, exhibits and vehicles for three cases were handed over to Singapore Customs for further investigations. The vehicles used in the commission of such offences are liable to be forfeited. Investigations are ongoing. 

    7. Our borders are our first line of defence in safeguarding Singapore's security. The security checks are critical to our nation’s security. We 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.


IMMIGRATION & CHECKPOINTS AUTHORITY
3 JULY 2015