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Introducing a Smoky Fragrance for Men
Smugglers attempted to introduce a new fragrance for men as the officers from the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) discovered in the latest contraband smuggling attempt. The consignment of men’s shirts was infused with tobacco scent as smugglers attempt to use men’s shirts as a guise for the contraband cigarettes! It was of little surprise that the sharp-eyed ICA officers managed to see through the smugglers’ ploy and effortlessly uncovered the smoky scented consignment.
2. On 18 October 2010 at about 8.45am, a Singapore registered lorry, which was declared to be conveying a consignment of men’s shirts had arrived at the Changi Airfreight Centre to seek clearance. The ICA officer directed the lorry for a routine inspection and spotted some anomalies in the scanned images of the goods. Suspecting that the consignment may consists more than men’s shirts; the officers then directed the lorry to the inspection bay for a more thorough check.
3. When the officers opened up the boxes, they saw pieces of men’s shirts stacked to the brim of the boxes. It did not take long before the officers discovered the contraband cigarettes concealed beneath the bundles of shirts.
Boxes of “Men shirts”
Contraband cigarettes hidden beneath bundles of men shirts
4. A total of 1,180 cartons of cigarettes were seized from this consignment. The estimated value of the illegal cigarettes is about S$115,000 and the potential customs duty and GST payable for the cigarettes amounted to S$90,700 and S$8,000 respectively.
5. The 51-year-old Singaporean driver and his Singaporean assistant are assisting Singapore Customs (SC) in the investigation of this case. The contraband cigarettes, lorry and cargo were handed over to SC. 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 vehicle used in conveying the contraband will also be liable for forfeiture.
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, cargoes and conveyances 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 more sinister attacks in Singapore.
IMMIGRATION & CHECKPOINTS AUTHORITY
20 October 2010
2. On 18 October 2010 at about 8.45am, a Singapore registered lorry, which was declared to be conveying a consignment of men’s shirts had arrived at the Changi Airfreight Centre to seek clearance. The ICA officer directed the lorry for a routine inspection and spotted some anomalies in the scanned images of the goods. Suspecting that the consignment may consists more than men’s shirts; the officers then directed the lorry to the inspection bay for a more thorough check.
3. When the officers opened up the boxes, they saw pieces of men’s shirts stacked to the brim of the boxes. It did not take long before the officers discovered the contraband cigarettes concealed beneath the bundles of shirts.
Boxes of “Men shirts”
Contraband cigarettes hidden beneath bundles of men shirts
4. A total of 1,180 cartons of cigarettes were seized from this consignment. The estimated value of the illegal cigarettes is about S$115,000 and the potential customs duty and GST payable for the cigarettes amounted to S$90,700 and S$8,000 respectively.
5. The 51-year-old Singaporean driver and his Singaporean assistant are assisting Singapore Customs (SC) in the investigation of this case. The contraband cigarettes, lorry and cargo were handed over to SC. 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 vehicle used in conveying the contraband will also be liable for forfeiture.
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, cargoes and conveyances 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 more sinister attacks in Singapore.
IMMIGRATION & CHECKPOINTS AUTHORITY
20 October 2010