A group of bootleggers must have been in a celebratory mood when they thought to usher in 2009 with contraband cigarettes in a consignment of detergent. Unfortunately for these crooks, good triumphed over evil and their hopes for a foam party with suds, bubbles and puffs of illicit cigarettes went up in smoke. Heroes for the night -- officers from the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority, who thwarted the smuggling attempt which began with an offer of RM5,000.

 

2          On 1 January 2009 at about 2255hrs, a Malaysia-registered lorry driven by a male Malaysian arrived at the Cargo Complex of Woodlands Checkpoint and was directed for radiographic scanning. He was accompanied by a Malay lorry attendant. Upon scanning, the image analyst found the image to be inconsistent with the declared consignment of 1,250 cartons of ‘detergent’. 

 

3          The smugglers had attempted to throw the officers off track by surrounding the loot with the detergent cargo load. Regardless of the smokescreen, the eagle-eyed ICA officers noticed plain brown boxes amidst the array of colourful detergent packing and sensed something amiss. Their vigilance and hard work eventually uncovered a large haul of 6,311 cartons and 1,875 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes. The potential Customs duty and GST payable for the contrabands amount to about S$457,500 and S$41,400 respectively.

 

 

Can you spot the loot?

 

 

 

Cartons of the stowaway cigarettes

  

4          The 22-year-old driver and his 20-year-old male Malaysian assistant had been working for a trading and logistics company for periods between six months to a year. The driver revealed that he was tempted by the hefty offer and stooped to taking up the illegal job of conveying the contraband items across the border crossing.  He also claimed that he was instructed to deliver the lorry to Hub Logistics in Singapore and wait for two Malaysian Chinese who would collect the cigarettes in a white Malaysia-registered van.

 

5          The case was referred to Singapore Customs for further investigations.  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 lorry used in conveying this contraband will also be liable for forfeiture.

 

6          Under the Customs Act as well as the Immigration Act, vehicles used in the smuggling of contraband items or illegal immigrants will be seized and are liable to be forfeited. It is the responsibility of logistics companies and bus owners operating across the borders to ensure that their vehicles are not used for smuggling unlawful goods or persons into Singapore as they would ultimately have to bear the cost of their employees’ wrongdoings.

 

7          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

2 JANUARY 2009