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We Fail to Deliver... Fake Courier Arrested
A Singaporean man learnt that posing as a courier does not necessarily mean that he would be successful in 'delivering' his contraband cigarettes to Singapore. The 44-year-old man had tried to smuggle the contraband cigarettes into Singapore by hiding them in big brown envelopes and passing them off as courier packages. Well, he failed to deliver when officers at Woodlands checkpoint uncovered the cigarettes hidden in the envelopes.
2 On 2 May 2006 at about 0805 hours, the 44-year-old man rode into Singapore on his Singapore-registered motorcycle. The pillion rider was his 44-year-old Singaporean wife. Officers at Woodlands checkpoint stopped his motorcycle for a routine check, and found a black laptop bag containing 110 packets of contraband cigarettes kept in brown envelopes. Further searches were conducted on the motorcycle and the two riders and another 10 packets of contraband cigarettes were found strapped around the woman’s waist.
3 The Singaporean man admitted to ownership of the contraband cigarettes and claimed that he had intended to sell the duty-unpaid cigarettes to his friends. The case has been referred to Singapore Customs for further investigation. If found guilty, the offenders could be fined up to a maximum of 20 times the amount of customs duties and Goods & Services Tax involved.
4 Being the guardian of Singapore's checkpoints, ICA is acutely aware that our borders are the first line of defence in safeguarding Singapore's security against possible terrorist attacks. The increased security checks at all our checkpoints are critical to our nation’s security, especially since terrorism remains a clear and present threat to Singapore. ICA now conducts 100 per cent checks on persons, cargo and conveyances that pass through our checkpoints. These enhanced security checks have been effective in helping to detect cases of smuggling illegal goods and illegal immigrants. In 2005, about 1,600 immigration offenders were arrested at the checkpoints either trying to enter or leave Singapore illegally. ICA also detected about 17,000 cases of contraband-smuggling cases in 2005. We would like to advise the public against smuggling unlawful goods and persons into and out of Singapore.
2 On 2 May 2006 at about 0805 hours, the 44-year-old man rode into Singapore on his Singapore-registered motorcycle. The pillion rider was his 44-year-old Singaporean wife. Officers at Woodlands checkpoint stopped his motorcycle for a routine check, and found a black laptop bag containing 110 packets of contraband cigarettes kept in brown envelopes. Further searches were conducted on the motorcycle and the two riders and another 10 packets of contraband cigarettes were found strapped around the woman’s waist.
3 The Singaporean man admitted to ownership of the contraband cigarettes and claimed that he had intended to sell the duty-unpaid cigarettes to his friends. The case has been referred to Singapore Customs for further investigation. If found guilty, the offenders could be fined up to a maximum of 20 times the amount of customs duties and Goods & Services Tax involved.
4 Being the guardian of Singapore's checkpoints, ICA is acutely aware that our borders are the first line of defence in safeguarding Singapore's security against possible terrorist attacks. The increased security checks at all our checkpoints are critical to our nation’s security, especially since terrorism remains a clear and present threat to Singapore. ICA now conducts 100 per cent checks on persons, cargo and conveyances that pass through our checkpoints. These enhanced security checks have been effective in helping to detect cases of smuggling illegal goods and illegal immigrants. In 2005, about 1,600 immigration offenders were arrested at the checkpoints either trying to enter or leave Singapore illegally. ICA also detected about 17,000 cases of contraband-smuggling cases in 2005. We would like to advise the public against smuggling unlawful goods and persons into and out of Singapore.