The morning rush hour is a familiar experience for many of us. For officers from the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA), their adrenaline rush stretched from morning till noon as they stopped ‘couriers’ in their tracks – one after another.

2.    On 26 September 2012 at about 8.30am, a male Indonesian national looked like any normal travellers as he strolled towards the Green Channel at Terminal 3, Arrival Hall of Changi Airport. As with many other travellers, the ICA officers approached the 33-year-old Indonesian man and directed him for routine baggage checks.

3.    During the course of checks, our observant officers noticed anomalies in the scanned images. Upon closer examination, our officers also noticed that the side and bottom of the bag appeared to be bulging. There were also some black tapes and powdery substance found on the side linings of the luggage. Officers’ suspicion were confirmed when they pried open the luggage and noticed packages hidden in the bag. Preliminary tests conducted by the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officers revealed that the white crystallised substance found in the bag were Methamphetamine Hydrochloride, also known as ‘Ice’, weighing about 5.5kg. The male subject was immediately detained and together with the seized exhibits, he was handed over to CNB for further investigations.

(Photo by CNB: Powdery substance at the side linings of the luggage)

4.    Shortly after the detection of the first smuggling attempt, at about 1.30pm, officers directed a female Vietnamese national for departure checks at Tuas Checkpoint. The officers found three slabs of ‘Ice’, weighing about 5.7kg in the secret compartments of her luggage. The 33-year-old female subject was also handed over to CNB for further investigations.


(Photo by CNB: Slabs of ‘Ice’ found in the luggage)

5.    In total, about 11.2kg of ‘Ice’ were seized, with a combined street value of more than SGD1.68 million. The male Indonesian national and the female Vietnamese national, are being investigated for drug trafficking. If convicted, the duo may face the death penalty under the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA).
6. 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.

IMMIGRATION & CHECKPOINTS AUTHORITY
27 SEPTEMBER 2012