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'White' Christmas
“I’m dreaming of a White Christmas,
With every baggage that I check...”
As the officers from the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) continue to perform their duties diligently on the second day of Christmas, never would they expect to experience a truly ‘white’ Christmas at the Changi Airport.
2 On 26 December 2012 at about 10.30pm, a female Thai national, looking like any normal traveller, strolled towards the immigration counter at the Arrival Hall of Changi Airport Terminal 3. As with many other travellers, the ICA officers approached the 29-year-old woman for routine baggage checks.
3 During the course of checks, the experienced and observant officers noticed anomalies in the scanned images of her haversack. The ICA officers’ suspicion was aroused when they spotted a row of hand-sewn stitches at the handle compartment of the haversack. The officers then carefully cut open the stitches and found a package, wrapped in aluminium foil, hidden inside the inner linings of the haversack. Upon closer examination, the officers discovered another package, also wrapped in aluminium foil, hidden in the base cardboard of the haversack.
(Photo by CNB: “Ice” wrapped in aluminium foils)
4 Preliminary tests conducted by the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officers revealed that the white crystallised substance found by the ICA officers was Methamphetamine Hydrochloride, also known as ‘Ice’, weighing about 3.2kg. The woman was immediately detained. Together with the seized exhibits, she was handed over to CNB for further investigations. She is currently being investigated for drug trafficking. If convicted, she may face the death penalty under the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA).
5 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. 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
27 December 2012
With every baggage that I check...”
As the officers from the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) continue to perform their duties diligently on the second day of Christmas, never would they expect to experience a truly ‘white’ Christmas at the Changi Airport.
2 On 26 December 2012 at about 10.30pm, a female Thai national, looking like any normal traveller, strolled towards the immigration counter at the Arrival Hall of Changi Airport Terminal 3. As with many other travellers, the ICA officers approached the 29-year-old woman for routine baggage checks.
3 During the course of checks, the experienced and observant officers noticed anomalies in the scanned images of her haversack. The ICA officers’ suspicion was aroused when they spotted a row of hand-sewn stitches at the handle compartment of the haversack. The officers then carefully cut open the stitches and found a package, wrapped in aluminium foil, hidden inside the inner linings of the haversack. Upon closer examination, the officers discovered another package, also wrapped in aluminium foil, hidden in the base cardboard of the haversack.
(Photo by CNB: “Ice” wrapped in aluminium foils)
4 Preliminary tests conducted by the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officers revealed that the white crystallised substance found by the ICA officers was Methamphetamine Hydrochloride, also known as ‘Ice’, weighing about 3.2kg. The woman was immediately detained. Together with the seized exhibits, she was handed over to CNB for further investigations. She is currently being investigated for drug trafficking. If convicted, she may face the death penalty under the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA).
5 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. 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
27 December 2012