As the constant flow of traffic and holiday-makers trickled to a slow at the tail end of the Hari Raya Puasa long weekend, the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers at the checkpoints continued to maintain their vigilance even though it was creeping up to the early hours of the new work day. After all, weren’t smugglers and immigration offenders known to be an unpredictable lot, capable of striking with scant regard for the time of day?

2 On 13 September 2010 at about 4am, a Malaysia-registered truck was directed to the Woodlands Checkpoint cargo clearance centre for a thorough check of its content. Said to convey a consignment of 1,790 cartons of mushrooms and 158 cartons of lettuce, the vehicle was driven by a 31-year old male Malaysian Indian who was accompanied by a 35-year old male Malaysian Indian.

3 As the ICA officers conducted a scan with the Backscatter van, anomalies were uncovered within the image of the consignment. Immediately, the ICA officers decided that manual checks were in order and asked the driver to unload his goods. However, he became evasive, claiming that unloading was a difficult task and that he was too tired to do so. Undaunted, the ICA officers remained firm on the decision to check.


The Malaysian truck is declared to be conveying mushroom and lettuce

4 Soon enough, amongst the cartons of mushrooms and lettuce, the officers uncovered some 80 boxes containing a total of 4,000 cartons of contraband cigarettes! The driver and his passenger were immediately arrested while both the vehicle and its consignment were seized.

   
The cartons of ciggies are concealed among the declared consignment

5 When questioned, the driver admitted knowledge of the contraband found. H claimed to have needed money urgently and had agreed to smuggle cigarettes into Singapore for a fee after being approached by a male Malaysian called "Ah Chong". He had driven the contraband items from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore and had been instructed to park the truck at Woodlands Town Centre to await further instructions from "Ah Chong". He was promised a fee of RM15, 000 if the loot was delivered to Singapore successfully.

6 The potential Customs duty and GST payable for the duty-unpaid cigarettes amounted to S$281,600 and S$25,500 respectively. Both the driver and his passenger, along with the contraband, the truck and its consignment, were handed over to Singapore Customs (SC) for further investigation.


The contraband cigarettes amount to a total of 4,000 cartons or 800,000 sticks!

7 For the importation of uncustomed goods, 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 3 years. For a second and subsequent convictions, offenders can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty evaded and jailed for up to 6 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.

8 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
13 SEPTEMBER 2010