It was definitely a busy weekend at the Singapore Cruise Centre as families embarked on their much-awaited trips to the neighbouring countries at the start of the week-long school holidays. The Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers have worked tirelessly for hours clearing the voluminous load of holiday-makers leaving for or returning from their short getaways.

2 Shortly after 1pm on 5 September 2010, the ICA officers at the Green/Red Channels of the arrival hall directed an Indonesian traveller for checks on his hand-carried boxes. The lone traveller was visibly ruffled when officers asked him about the contents of his luggage. Suspecting that the man could be carrying contraband items, the officers directed him to the inspection area for a more thorough check on his luggage.

3 Upon opening the weighty boxes, officers found eight palettes wrapped in newspapers. In which, officers found a total of 16 kilogrammes of ant larvae. While inspecting these receptacles, the ICA officers thought they heard faint chirping sounds. Checks on the 49-year-old’s sling bag uncovered small boxes with numerous holes pierced on them. The officers peered into the tiny openings and saw feathers and beaks peeking out from the triangular holes on the boxes. A count revealed that the smuggler had also tried to bootleg 11 feathered species, of which five were identified as ‘Mata Puteh’. Once again, the keen abilities of the ICA officers have thwarted the smuggler at his game.

  
Antsy mannerisms let the larvae out of the box

  
Whose feathers are ruffled – the smuggler’s or the birds’ ?
(From left: 11 live birds concealed into boxes, and photo of the smuggled mata puteh, or better known as the Oriental White-Eye, with courtesy from AVA)

4 The Indonesian man who had attempted to bring in the ant larvae and live birds illegally admitted to the smuggling activities. He claimed that he had intended to sell these contraband items to a bird shop in Telok Blangah. He has been referred to the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) for investigations.

5 The ICA and AVA would like to remind travellers against bringing live animals, birds and insects without proper permit. The importation of live birds without an AVA permit is a violation of the Animals and Birds Act, which carries a maximum penalty of $10,000 and/or imprisonment of up to one year.

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. In view of the potential danger of avian flu, we would like to advise the public against the smuggling of birds, poultry and poultry products into Singapore.

IMMIGRATION & CHECKPOINTS AUTHORITY（移民与关卡局）
7 September 2010