It was 4am in the morning of New Year eve. Day break was just a few hours away and you were snuggled up in the comfort of your bed, getting all the rest you need for the countdown party at night. Not many people were travelling in this wee hour of the morning but the officers from the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) remain ever vigilant, standing guard at the frontline of the nation’s gateways to ensure that undesirables do not enter the country.

2 At about 4.30am, a Singapore-registered bus ferrying nine passengers arrived at the Woodlands Checkpoint. The passengers disembarked and proceeded to the bus hall for immigration clearance. The bus, driven by a male Singaporean, was directed for a routine inspection at the arrival bus zone.



The bus loaded with contraband cigarettes

3 On boarding the empty bus, the ICA officers picked up a light whiff in the enclosed carriage and suspected that there were contraband cigarettes stashed somewhere within the bus. The bus was sent for scanning and true to the officers’ instincts, the scanned images showed anomalies in various compartments of the bus.

4 Immediately, all hands were on deck to pry open all the sealed compartments in the vehicle. Minutes into the search, the first stashed of contraband cigarettes were uncovered from the modified compartment behind the television panel on the lower deck of the bus.



Hidden behind the TV panel

5 More duty-unpaid cigarettes were subsequently found concealed in the modified compartment above the rear wheels of the bus. The 45 year-old Chinese man was immediately placed under arrest.

6 The final tally of the contraband cigarettes was a grand 3,325 cartons! The potential Customs duty and GST payable for the contrabands amount to about S$234,000 and S$21,000 respectively.

 

Modified compartment above the rear wheels on the bus



3,325 cartons of detected contraband cigarettes

7 Preliminary investigation revealed that the driver had agreed to smuggle in the contraband cigarettes as he was heavily in debt. He had arranged for the illicit deal through a man, known only as “Ah Tan”. He claimed that he would be paid $500 upon successful delivery of the contraband items. The case was referred to the Singapore Customs for further investigations.

8 Beside this big haul, the two land checkpoints have also detected about 180 travellers who brought in more than 3,000 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes over the period from 31 December 2009 to 3 January 2010. The ICA would like to remind all travellers to use the Red Channel for customs clearance if they have dutiable goods. For 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 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.

9 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
6 January 2010