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Meeting of the Butts-To-Be
The butts-to-be? Please allow us to clarify that we are referring to toilet rolls meant for the butts (Yes, those butts) and cigarette butts that are snuffed out at the end of a smoke. How did these two get associated with each other? Well, the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers witnessed a meeting of the two butts-to-be this morning at the Arrival Checking Area of Woodlands Checkpoint.
2 Following yesterday’s haul of 2, 009 cartons of cigarettes, at about 0720 hrs this morning, a Malaysia-registered bonded truck driven by a male Malaysian arrived at the Woodlands Checkpoint. The truck was declared to be carrying a consignment of 660 cases of toilet rolls. Noting that the driver appeared nervous, the ICA officers conducted further checks on the vehicle. Apart from the shifty body language displayed by the driver, the vigilant ICA officers also observed that the truck was filled to the maximum capacity of 1,200 toilet rolls in spite of the smaller consignment carried.
3 The checks confirmed their suspicions. ICA officers uncovered the largest haul of tobacco for the year – 6,101 cartons x 200 sticks of contraband cigarettes. The smugglers had attempted to throw the officers off the track by concealing the contraband cigarettes in boxes amongst the declared consignment of toilet rolls. The ICA officers persisted to check further and found the contrabands hidden within. The potential Customs duty and GST payable for the contraband cigarettes amount to about S$469,000 and S$38,900 respectively. The estimated market value of the contrabands is S$555,000.
8 The 32 year-old driver admitted knowledge of the exhibits found and claimed that this is his first attempt to smuggle contraband into Singapore. He said that he was promised a sum of RM20 per carton of cigarettes upon successful delivery. He had collected the cargo together with the contraband cigarettes from a factory in Johor.
9 The case has been referred to Singapore Customs for further investigations. Upon conviction by the court, first time offenders can be fined up to a maximum of 20 times the amount of duty evaded. For second or subsequent convictions, offenders can be jailed for up to two years, as well as being fined. The offenders also face further fines based on the amount of GST evaded.
10 Our borders are our first line of defence in safeguarding Singapore's security. The enhanced security checks are critical to our nation’s security especially following the escape of Mas Selamat bin Kastari. 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. The same methods of concealment used by smugglers may be used by terrorists to smuggle arms and explosives to carry out attacks in Singapore. We seek the public’s continued understanding and cooperation, and would like to warn against smuggling unlawful goods into Singapore.
Immigration & Checkpoints Authority
23 April 2008
2 Following yesterday’s haul of 2, 009 cartons of cigarettes, at about 0720 hrs this morning, a Malaysia-registered bonded truck driven by a male Malaysian arrived at the Woodlands Checkpoint. The truck was declared to be carrying a consignment of 660 cases of toilet rolls. Noting that the driver appeared nervous, the ICA officers conducted further checks on the vehicle. Apart from the shifty body language displayed by the driver, the vigilant ICA officers also observed that the truck was filled to the maximum capacity of 1,200 toilet rolls in spite of the smaller consignment carried.
3 The checks confirmed their suspicions. ICA officers uncovered the largest haul of tobacco for the year – 6,101 cartons x 200 sticks of contraband cigarettes. The smugglers had attempted to throw the officers off the track by concealing the contraband cigarettes in boxes amongst the declared consignment of toilet rolls. The ICA officers persisted to check further and found the contrabands hidden within. The potential Customs duty and GST payable for the contraband cigarettes amount to about S$469,000 and S$38,900 respectively. The estimated market value of the contrabands is S$555,000.
8 The 32 year-old driver admitted knowledge of the exhibits found and claimed that this is his first attempt to smuggle contraband into Singapore. He said that he was promised a sum of RM20 per carton of cigarettes upon successful delivery. He had collected the cargo together with the contraband cigarettes from a factory in Johor.
9 The case has been referred to Singapore Customs for further investigations. Upon conviction by the court, first time offenders can be fined up to a maximum of 20 times the amount of duty evaded. For second or subsequent convictions, offenders can be jailed for up to two years, as well as being fined. The offenders also face further fines based on the amount of GST evaded.
10 Our borders are our first line of defence in safeguarding Singapore's security. The enhanced security checks are critical to our nation’s security especially following the escape of Mas Selamat bin Kastari. 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. The same methods of concealment used by smugglers may be used by terrorists to smuggle arms and explosives to carry out attacks in Singapore. We seek the public’s continued understanding and cooperation, and would like to warn against smuggling unlawful goods into Singapore.
Immigration & Checkpoints Authority
23 April 2008