On 11 Nov 05 past midnight at 0040 hours, ICA uncovered an attempt by a Singaporean woman to smuggle 1270 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes into Singapore. The Singaporean woman, aged 24 had driven to Woodlands checkpoint in a Singapore-registered black car. The woman, who was three-months pregnant, was alone. Our officers stopped her vehicle for a routine check, and observed that she suddenly looked very nervous and avoided eye contact with them. They proceeded to do a thorough check on the car and detected a total of 1270 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes hidden in the speaker box and the spare tyre compartment of the car.

2 The woman was immediately placed under arrest and her vehicle seized. She revealed that she was instructed to deliver the cigarettes to a Singaporean male in Choa Chu Kang, and was promised $2,000/- if she was successful in her smuggling attempt.

3 The customs duties and Goods & Services Tax involved for this case are estimated to be S$9,100 and S$580 respectively. The estimated market value is S$11,600. 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 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 contraband items. Mr Lee Chian Tak, Commander of Woodlands Command reiterated our commitment to keeping Singapore safe and secure. He said,"As the border security agency, we take our job very seriously as any security lapses will have serious consequences for Singapore. We will check all travellers even if they are pregnant women or family groups with children and elderly people."


END OF NEWS RELEASE

Immigration & Checkpoints Authority
11 Nov 2005