The smugglers must have thought they had concrete plans by striking in the wee hours of the morning when everyone was supposedly asleep. They were wrong. ICA officers on duty do not sleep. The smugglers found that out the hard way - ICA officers remain alert and vigilant at all times as they watch over the borders while the rest of Singapore is fast asleep.

2 During the wee hours of 8 March 2010 at about 3.20 am, a Malaysia-registered lorry pulled up at the Woodlands Checkpoint for arrival clearance. The lone Malaysian driver handed an import permit to the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers. The permit stated the vehicle to be carrying a consignment of "2,440 pieces of interlocking concrete paving slabs". The officer noticed that the undercarriage of the lorry was unusually low and decided to send it for x-ray scanning. That was when the image analyst noticed some anomalies at the floorboard section of the vehicle.


The lorry is singled out for further checks


The concrete slabs are first unpacked


3 Through a hole at the undercarriage, the sharp-eyed ICA officer caught sight of cartons of cigarettes hidden within. The Malaysian lorry driver was swiftly placed under arrest and the vehicle seized.


Officers remove the cover to find neatly packed cartons of cigarettes


4 From the modified floorboard section of the lorry, ICA officers eventually unpacked and recovered nearly 430,000 sticks of cigarettes (about 2,150 cartons). The potential Customs duty and GST involved on the duty-unpaid cigarettes amounted to S$151, 360 and S$13, 700 respectively.


The cartons of cigarettes are packed to the brim


More than 2,150 cartons’ worth of cigarettes are uncovered


5 The 34-year old driver acknowledged that he was aware of the contraband under the floorboard of the lorry. He claimed that he had agreed to smuggle the contraband into Singapore to make some money to pay off his family's mortgages. A Malaysian contact, "Shanker", also known as "Chandran", who had approached him to smuggle the contraband cigarettes to Singapore, was also responsible for modifying the floorboard of the lorry. As arranged, earlier that fateful morning, the driver had collected the loaded lorry, planning to head for Bukit Batok after immigration clearance. There, someone would take over the lorry until the signal was given for him to drive back to JB. He was promised a sum of RM 4,000 if he managed to convey the illicit consignment into Singapore successfully.

6 The driver, along with the vehicle and contraband seized, were referred to the Singapore Customs (SC) for further investigation. 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 or subsequent conviction, 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.


7 As our country's first line of defence against terrorist threats, ICA has a duty to ensure the security and safety of Singapore. 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 contraband. The same methods of concealment used by contraband smugglers may be used by terrorists to smuggle arms and explosives to carry out attacks in Singapore. We would like to advise the public against smuggling unlawful goods into Singapore.

END OF NEWS RELEASE

IMMIGRATION & CHECKPOINTS AUTHORITY
9th March 2010