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"Trashy" Way of Smuggling Cigarettes
On 30 Jul 2007, at about 0320 hrs, ICA officers from Woodlands Checkpoint stopped an arriving Malaysia-registered tour bus for further checks. The vehicle was driven by a male Malaysian Indian.
2 In the course of the checks, officers found plenty of trash bags in the dustbin on the bus. When asked about the disposed trash bags, the driver was unable to come up with an explanation and started to become nervous. This aroused our officers’ suspicions that something was amiss. Upon detailed checking, modified compartments were found underneath the floorboard and the rear passenger seats of the bus. A scan using the Z-backscatter van confirmed the presence of suspected contraband cigarettes in the hidden compartments. A total of 1,300 cartons x 200 sticks of duty-unpaid cigarettes were retrieved.
3 The driver, aged 39, denied knowledge of the cigarettes and claimed that he was paid RM$80 to drive the bus into Singapore. The customs duty and GST payable in this case is estimated to be about $91,500 and $8200 respectively. The driver was arrested, and together with the vehicle and exhibits, handed over to the Singapore Customs for further investigations.
4 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.
Security at our checkpoints
5 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.
2 In the course of the checks, officers found plenty of trash bags in the dustbin on the bus. When asked about the disposed trash bags, the driver was unable to come up with an explanation and started to become nervous. This aroused our officers’ suspicions that something was amiss. Upon detailed checking, modified compartments were found underneath the floorboard and the rear passenger seats of the bus. A scan using the Z-backscatter van confirmed the presence of suspected contraband cigarettes in the hidden compartments. A total of 1,300 cartons x 200 sticks of duty-unpaid cigarettes were retrieved.
3 The driver, aged 39, denied knowledge of the cigarettes and claimed that he was paid RM$80 to drive the bus into Singapore. The customs duty and GST payable in this case is estimated to be about $91,500 and $8200 respectively. The driver was arrested, and together with the vehicle and exhibits, handed over to the Singapore Customs for further investigations.
4 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.
Security at our checkpoints
5 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.