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The smuggler who attempted to smuggle in close to 500,000 sticks of contraband cigarettes must have thought that he had devised a foolproof plan to hide them in a seemingly “empty” truck. His plan was blown to shreds when the eagled-eyed officers from the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) uncovered the contraband cigarettes hidden underneath the modified floorboard of the truck.
2 On 12 September 2007 at about 0745 hrs, an “empty” Malaysia-registered vehicle carrier truck arriving in Singapore through Woodlands Checkpoint was diverted by the checkpoint officers for more detailed checks. The truck was driven by a lone male Malaysian Indian. The 20 year-old driver appeared nervous as our officers conducted a thorough check on the truck. Upon detailed checks conducted by the vigilant ICA officers, a total of 2,495 cartons x 200 sticks of cigarettes were found hidden underneath the modified floorboard of the truck.
3 The driver denied knowledge of the items found. He claimed to have been paid a sum of RM100 to drive the empty truck to Singapore. The total amount of customs duties and Goods & Services Tax involved is estimated to be S$176,000 and S$16,000 respectively. 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.
4 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.
Flawed Floorboard
The smuggler who attempted to smuggle in close to 500,000 sticks of contraband cigarettes must have thought that he had devised a foolproof plan to hide them in a seemingly “empty” truck. His plan was blown to shreds when the eagled-eyed officers from the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) uncovered the contraband cigarettes hidden underneath the modified floorboard of the truck.
2 On 12 September 2007 at about 0745 hrs, an “empty” Malaysia-registered vehicle carrier truck arriving in Singapore through Woodlands Checkpoint was diverted by the checkpoint officers for more detailed checks. The truck was driven by a lone male Malaysian Indian. The 20 year-old driver appeared nervous as our officers conducted a thorough check on the truck. Upon detailed checks conducted by the vigilant ICA officers, a total of 2,495 cartons x 200 sticks of cigarettes were found hidden underneath the modified floorboard of the truck.
3 The driver denied knowledge of the items found. He claimed to have been paid a sum of RM100 to drive the empty truck to Singapore. The total amount of customs duties and Goods & Services Tax involved is estimated to be S$176,000 and S$16,000 respectively. 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.
4 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.