On Thursday, 28 October 2010 at 12.50pm, officers from the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) Anti-Smuggling Team and Police Coast Guard (PCG) acted on information received and boarded a barge and tugboat that arrived from Batu Ampar at Jurong Wharf for a routine joint inspection. After conducting face-to-face checks on all the 12 crew members, the officers proceeded to search the vessels. From the engine room to the deck, they combed all the areas thoroughly, leaving nothing to chance. 

The heavy-duty barge at the wharf

2.     The meticulous officers in blue did not even let the small and innocuous manhole gets past their eagle eyes. As the officers approached the dusty manhole at the port side of the vessel, some of the crew members showed signs of nervousness. The unnatural behaviour aroused the officers’ suspicion that there could be something more beneath those rusty covers.

3.     The search in the dark and confined manholes was not easy but the officers continued unrelentingly. The search into the narrow manhole found 44 black polythene boxes of duty-unpaid cigarettes hidden within. This triumphant discovery further pushed the officers in their endeavours to search for more contraband that could be stashed somewhere else onboard the vessels. Indeed, the officers retrieved six more paper boxes containing assorted brands of cigarettes and tobacco from inside the ballast tank.
 
Officer climbing into the ballast tank to                Polythelene boxes of duty-unpaid cigarettes
retrieve the loot                                                           within the manhole

 4.     Three crew members, including the 44-year-old Barge Master, admitted ownership of the contrabands. They claimed that they had agreed to help transport the smuggled goods from Batam to Singapore. They were to await further contact from someone unknown. For this, the three Indonesian men were promised a sum of S$3.00 per carton, to be shared equally among themselves.

5.     A total of 2,377 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes and 40 packets of shag tobacco were seized from the vessels. The potential customs duty, GST payable and street value of the contrabands amount to S$201,600, S$16,700 and S$238,600 respectively. The trio and the contraband cigarettes were handed over to the Singapore Customs (SC) for further investigation.


                                                                         What a seizure!

6.     The vigilant Home Team officers have proven once again to the smugglers their unwavering commitment to detect and deter any illicit activities from barging into our porous perimeters. 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.

7.     Those who are caught importing uncustomed goods will be dealt with under the Customs Act, Cap 70. Upon conviction by the court, first time offenders can be fined up to 20 times the amount of duty evaded and liable to a jail term not exceeding three years. For second or subsequent convictions, offenders can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty evaded and jailed for up to six years. The offenders also face further fines based on the amount of GST evaded. The conveyances used in transporting the contraband will also be liable for forfeiture.

IMMIGRATION & CHECKPOINTS AUTHORITY
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE

2 NOVEMBER 2010