At night, while most of us snuggle comfortably in bed, officers from the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) continue with their duties diligently. They also work closely with other law enforcement agencies to keep Singapore safe and secure.

Drugs discovered in different parts of a car

2          On 27 January 2014 at about 11.55pm, at Woodlands Checkpoint, ICA worked together with CNB and SPF to direct an arriving Singapore-registered car driven by a lone male Singaporean Chinese for checks. During the course of checks, the experienced officers found a bundle of vegetable substance underneath the front passenger seat and another packet containing crystalline substance underneath a spare tyre.

(Photo by CNB: Drugs detected on 27 January 2014)

3          Preliminary tests conducted by CNB officers revealed that the bundle of vegetable substance found was “Cannabis”, weighing about 512g while the crystalline substance was ‘Ice’, weighing about 52g. The estimated street value of the drug seizure is about $27,300. The 59-year-old Singaporean was immediately arrested.   Investigations are on-going. The detection is made possible with the close cooperation of the Home Team agencies at the checkpoints.

 

Duty-unpaid cigarettes stashed in different compartments of a car

4          A few hours later, on 28 January 2014, at around 4.45am, at Woodlands Checkpoint, ICA officers directed a Singapore-registered car for a routine inspection at the arrival car zone. The car was driven by a male Singaporean Malay who was accompanied by his family of five. During the course of checks, ICA officers found duty-unpaid cigarettes hidden in the rear compartment of the car. More duty-unpaid cigarettes were uncovered under the rear seat.

 

5          A total of 150 cartons of assorted duty-unpaid cigarettes were retrieved from the car. The estimated street value of the duty-unpaid cigarettes is worth more than $17,000. The evaded duty and GST involved amounted to more than $13,000 and $1,100 respectively. The 41-year-old Singaporean, the duty-unpaid cigarettes and the seized car were referred to Singapore Customs for further investigations.

Duty-unpaid cigarettes found in the car (from left: in rear compartment; under rear seat)

6          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.  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

28 January 2014