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The Sea Route Doesn’t Work Too
The smugglers must have heard about the series of smuggling attempts thwarted by the vigilant Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers at the land checkpoints and decided to try the sea route. And of course, the smugglers didn’t manage to have their way. Following hot on the heels of the series of the smuggling attempts thwarted at the land checkpoint the day before, ICA officers from the Coastal Command smashed yet another attempt to smuggle a total of 719 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes onboard a tugboat.
2 On 15 May 2007, at about 2100hrs, the ICA officers together with the Police Coast Guard (PCG), mounted a joint operation against a tugboat, suspected of smuggling duty-unpaid cigarettes into Singapore. The tugboat which was intercepted at the Western quarantine area was helmed by a 9-man Indonesian crew. An onboard search of the vessel led officers to an empty sea water ballast tank, located at the fore peak of the tugboat. 700 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes were retrieved from within. A further search yielded another 19 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes from the engine room. All the cigarettes were concealed in cardboard boxes and covered in black plastic bags. The vessel was subsequently escorted back to ICA Coastal Command HQ.
3 Upon questioning, four of the crew members claimed ownership of the cigarettes. The total Customs Duties and GST payable was estimated at about $59,780 and $3,540 respectively. All the crew members and the exhibits were subsequently referred to 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 On 15 May 2007, at about 2100hrs, the ICA officers together with the Police Coast Guard (PCG), mounted a joint operation against a tugboat, suspected of smuggling duty-unpaid cigarettes into Singapore. The tugboat which was intercepted at the Western quarantine area was helmed by a 9-man Indonesian crew. An onboard search of the vessel led officers to an empty sea water ballast tank, located at the fore peak of the tugboat. 700 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes were retrieved from within. A further search yielded another 19 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes from the engine room. All the cigarettes were concealed in cardboard boxes and covered in black plastic bags. The vessel was subsequently escorted back to ICA Coastal Command HQ.
3 Upon questioning, four of the crew members claimed ownership of the cigarettes. The total Customs Duties and GST payable was estimated at about $59,780 and $3,540 respectively. All the crew members and the exhibits were subsequently referred to 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.