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No 'Cooling' Measure For ICA
With the new property cooling measures came abuzz over the weekend, many would expect the property market to cool down in time to come. On the contrary, the passion of vigilant and alert Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers did not ‘cool down’ and continued to soar with vigour as they thwarted several smuggling attempts at the land checkpoints.
2. Over the last weekend, the ICA officers at the land checkpoints seized a total of 2,387 cartons of contraband cigarettes in assorted brands and 697 bundles of chewing tobacco from six men, four cars, a motorcycle and a truck. And, to add a taste of ‘real life’ to the officers’ detection, there was a sugar glider caught alive for attempting to ‘glide’ (pun intended) through our borders together with its owner.
Smuggling Attempts went up in Smoke
3. On 11 January 2013 at about 6.05pm, officers from the Woodlands Checkpoint directed a Singapore-registered car for routine checks when it arrived at the Arrival Green Channel. In the course of checks, the ICA officers found contraband cigarettes hidden in various part of the car – back seat, modified fuel tank, spare tyre compartment and back rest of the rear passenger seat. A total of 239 cartons and 790 packets of the contraband cigarettes with estimated customs duty of about S$22,387 and GST of about S$2,124 were uncovered. The 50-year-old lone Singaporean male driver was immediately arrested.
(From left) Illegal smokes strapped to the backrest and spare tyre compartment of car
4. It was déjà vu for the ICA officers. Barely five minutes after the first incident, the officers arrested another Singaporean male who attempted to smuggle contraband cigarettes into Singapore. The 64-year-old man had arrived at the Arrival Green Channel at the Woodlands Checkpoint and was subject to inspection. The ICA officers discovered a total of 198 cartons and 720 packets of contraband cigarettes stashed in different parts of the Singapore-registered car – back seat, modified fuel tank, spare tyre compartment and back rest. The potential customs duty and GST of this batch of contrabands amounted to about S$19,000 and S$1,800 respectively. The man was immediately arrested.
(From left) Illegal smokes strapped to the back seat and modified fuel tank of car
5. Over at Tuas Checkpoint, the ICA officers were also busy at work as they continued to sieve out dubious travelers for checks. On 12 January 2013 at about 8.30am, the observant officers, when referring a Malaysia-registered truck for further checks at the Arrival Cargo Zone, noticed anomalies in the x-ray images of the consignment of machine parts. During the examination of the consignment, the meticulous officers discovered a total of 1,499 cartons of contraband cigarettes and 697 sachets of chewing tobacco, weighing about 214.92kg, concealed in the crates of machine parts. The contraband cigarettes were worth potential customs duty of about S$105,500 and GST of about S$10,000. The potential customs duty and GST of the chewing tobacco were about S$51,300 and S$3,600 respectively. The driver, a 42-year-old Malaysian man, was immediately arrested.
(From left) Contraband cigarettes and chewing tobacco seized
6. On 13 January 2013 at about 4.30pm, officers at the Woodlands Checkpoint seized a total of 115 cartons and 700 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes during a routine inspection. The ICA officers had found the contraband in the rear seat, rear back rest and modified fuel tank of a Singapore-registered car at the Arrival Green Channel. The lone Singaporean man, aged 50, was immediately arrested. The potential customs duty and GST of the duty-unpaid cigarettes amounted to about S$13,200 and S$1,200 respectively.
(From Top) From rear seat to back rest; total exhibits uncovered
7. Officers at the Woodlands Checkpoint made another arrest on 13 January 2013 at about 10pm. A Singapore-registered car was directed for further checks when it arrived at the Arrival Green Channel. Contraband cigarettes were found concealed underneath the modified rear seat, backrest and modified fuel tank of the car. A total of 34 cartons and 810 packets worth about S$8,000 of customs duty and S$770 of GST were seized. The 51-year-old Singaporean man was immediately arrested.
(From left) Contraband stashed in modified rear seat back rest and underneath rear seat
8. All the above Subjects, together with the vehicles and exhibits seized, have been referred to the Singapore Customs for investigations.
New pet for the new year - We’ve got a live sugar glider!
9. Back at Woodlands Checkpoint on 12 January 2013 at about 5.25pm, a 33-year-old Malaysian man appeared nervous when his Malaysia-registered motorcycle arrived at the Arrival Motorcycle Lane for inspection. Indeed, a live sugar glider was found concealed within a perforated toothpaste box kept in one of the man’s inner pockets of his jacket. The lone rider was immediately arrested. The case was then handed over to the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) for investigations. As sugar gliders are not approved pets in Singapore and should not be imported or kept by private owners, AVA issued the offender a compound fine and a stern warning letter. The sugar glider was sent to the Singapore Zoo.
(From left) The live sugar glider hidden in the toothpaste box
Know what you’re in for!
10. Buying, selling, conveying, delivering, storing, keeping, having in possession or dealing with duty-unpaid goods are serious offences under the Customs Act and the GST Act. Offenders will be severely dealt with. They can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty evaded and/or jailed for up to six years.
11. The ICA and AVA would like to remind travellers against bringing live animals, birds and insects into Singapore without a proper permit. Animals that are smuggled into Singapore are of unknown health status. As such, AVA strictly regulates the import of animals to safeguard the health and welfare of animals, and prevent the introduction of exotic animal diseases into Singapore. Anyone who imports an animal without a license is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding S$10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both.
12. Our borders are our first line of defence in safeguarding Singapore's security. The enhanced security checks are critical to our nation’s security. We have tightened our security checks on passengers and vehicles at the checkpoints to prevent attempts to smuggle in undesirable persons, drugs, weapons, explosives and other contrabands. In view of the potential danger of introducing infectious diseases into Singapore, we would like to advise the public against the smuggling of animals, animal products, meat and meat products into Singapore.
IMMIGRATION & CHECKPOINTS AUTHORITY
15 JANUARY 2013
2. Over the last weekend, the ICA officers at the land checkpoints seized a total of 2,387 cartons of contraband cigarettes in assorted brands and 697 bundles of chewing tobacco from six men, four cars, a motorcycle and a truck. And, to add a taste of ‘real life’ to the officers’ detection, there was a sugar glider caught alive for attempting to ‘glide’ (pun intended) through our borders together with its owner.
Smuggling Attempts went up in Smoke
3. On 11 January 2013 at about 6.05pm, officers from the Woodlands Checkpoint directed a Singapore-registered car for routine checks when it arrived at the Arrival Green Channel. In the course of checks, the ICA officers found contraband cigarettes hidden in various part of the car – back seat, modified fuel tank, spare tyre compartment and back rest of the rear passenger seat. A total of 239 cartons and 790 packets of the contraband cigarettes with estimated customs duty of about S$22,387 and GST of about S$2,124 were uncovered. The 50-year-old lone Singaporean male driver was immediately arrested.
(From left) Illegal smokes strapped to the backrest and spare tyre compartment of car
4. It was déjà vu for the ICA officers. Barely five minutes after the first incident, the officers arrested another Singaporean male who attempted to smuggle contraband cigarettes into Singapore. The 64-year-old man had arrived at the Arrival Green Channel at the Woodlands Checkpoint and was subject to inspection. The ICA officers discovered a total of 198 cartons and 720 packets of contraband cigarettes stashed in different parts of the Singapore-registered car – back seat, modified fuel tank, spare tyre compartment and back rest. The potential customs duty and GST of this batch of contrabands amounted to about S$19,000 and S$1,800 respectively. The man was immediately arrested.
(From left) Illegal smokes strapped to the back seat and modified fuel tank of car
5. Over at Tuas Checkpoint, the ICA officers were also busy at work as they continued to sieve out dubious travelers for checks. On 12 January 2013 at about 8.30am, the observant officers, when referring a Malaysia-registered truck for further checks at the Arrival Cargo Zone, noticed anomalies in the x-ray images of the consignment of machine parts. During the examination of the consignment, the meticulous officers discovered a total of 1,499 cartons of contraband cigarettes and 697 sachets of chewing tobacco, weighing about 214.92kg, concealed in the crates of machine parts. The contraband cigarettes were worth potential customs duty of about S$105,500 and GST of about S$10,000. The potential customs duty and GST of the chewing tobacco were about S$51,300 and S$3,600 respectively. The driver, a 42-year-old Malaysian man, was immediately arrested.
(From left) Contraband cigarettes and chewing tobacco seized
6. On 13 January 2013 at about 4.30pm, officers at the Woodlands Checkpoint seized a total of 115 cartons and 700 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes during a routine inspection. The ICA officers had found the contraband in the rear seat, rear back rest and modified fuel tank of a Singapore-registered car at the Arrival Green Channel. The lone Singaporean man, aged 50, was immediately arrested. The potential customs duty and GST of the duty-unpaid cigarettes amounted to about S$13,200 and S$1,200 respectively.
(From Top) From rear seat to back rest; total exhibits uncovered
7. Officers at the Woodlands Checkpoint made another arrest on 13 January 2013 at about 10pm. A Singapore-registered car was directed for further checks when it arrived at the Arrival Green Channel. Contraband cigarettes were found concealed underneath the modified rear seat, backrest and modified fuel tank of the car. A total of 34 cartons and 810 packets worth about S$8,000 of customs duty and S$770 of GST were seized. The 51-year-old Singaporean man was immediately arrested.
(From left) Contraband stashed in modified rear seat back rest and underneath rear seat
8. All the above Subjects, together with the vehicles and exhibits seized, have been referred to the Singapore Customs for investigations.
New pet for the new year - We’ve got a live sugar glider!
9. Back at Woodlands Checkpoint on 12 January 2013 at about 5.25pm, a 33-year-old Malaysian man appeared nervous when his Malaysia-registered motorcycle arrived at the Arrival Motorcycle Lane for inspection. Indeed, a live sugar glider was found concealed within a perforated toothpaste box kept in one of the man’s inner pockets of his jacket. The lone rider was immediately arrested. The case was then handed over to the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) for investigations. As sugar gliders are not approved pets in Singapore and should not be imported or kept by private owners, AVA issued the offender a compound fine and a stern warning letter. The sugar glider was sent to the Singapore Zoo.
(From left) The live sugar glider hidden in the toothpaste box
Know what you’re in for!
10. Buying, selling, conveying, delivering, storing, keeping, having in possession or dealing with duty-unpaid goods are serious offences under the Customs Act and the GST Act. Offenders will be severely dealt with. They can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty evaded and/or jailed for up to six years.
11. The ICA and AVA would like to remind travellers against bringing live animals, birds and insects into Singapore without a proper permit. Animals that are smuggled into Singapore are of unknown health status. As such, AVA strictly regulates the import of animals to safeguard the health and welfare of animals, and prevent the introduction of exotic animal diseases into Singapore. Anyone who imports an animal without a license is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding S$10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both.
12. Our borders are our first line of defence in safeguarding Singapore's security. The enhanced security checks are critical to our nation’s security. We have tightened our security checks on passengers and vehicles at the checkpoints to prevent attempts to smuggle in undesirable persons, drugs, weapons, explosives and other contrabands. In view of the potential danger of introducing infectious diseases into Singapore, we would like to advise the public against the smuggling of animals, animal products, meat and meat products into Singapore.
IMMIGRATION & CHECKPOINTS AUTHORITY
15 JANUARY 2013