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More Than Meets The Ice
"My hands are injured, I am unable to unload the ice", said the lorry driver. This was the start of a smoldering tale of deception the man was trying to pull off in front of the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer.
2 On 29 Sep, at about 0605 hrs, a Malaysian Indian male driving a Malaysia registered lorry through the Tuas checkpoint was found to be carrying a total of 3,497 cartons x 200 sticks of duty-unpaid cigarettes, embedded amongst 600 bags (each bag weighing about 15 kg) of ice-cubes.
3 During a routine cargo check on a consignment of 600 bags of ice-cubes, our officer requested the lorry driver to unload some bags of ice for a thorough check. The driver however, claimed that he was unable to do so due to some hand injuries.
4 Seeing that his hands looked fine, our officer became suspicious and directed the vehicle for a detailed scan at the Vehicle And Cargo Inspection System (VACIS). At the same time, the officer noticed from the driver's passport that he is only 20 years old, which is below the 21-year old legal standard required to drive a lorry of this size in Malaysia. Further checks by the ICA officer revealed that the driver was issued with a Multiple Journey Pass (MJP) for his job as a lorry attendant, and not a lorry driver. With all the discrepancies noted, the driver was questioned further and he finally succumbed and admitted that he did not have a valid driving license.
5 Our officers proceeded to remove the bags of ice from the lorry and a total of 3,497 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes were unearthed. The cigarettes are worth an estimated street value of $314,730.00, with the customs duty and GST amounting to $246,188.80 and $15,736.50 respectively.
6 The driver, vehicle and case exhibits will be handed over to the Singapore Customs for further investigations.
7 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. We would like to advise the public against smuggling unlawful goods into Singapore.
END OF NEWS RELEASE
Immigration & Checkpoints Authority
29 Sep 2005
2 On 29 Sep, at about 0605 hrs, a Malaysian Indian male driving a Malaysia registered lorry through the Tuas checkpoint was found to be carrying a total of 3,497 cartons x 200 sticks of duty-unpaid cigarettes, embedded amongst 600 bags (each bag weighing about 15 kg) of ice-cubes.
3 During a routine cargo check on a consignment of 600 bags of ice-cubes, our officer requested the lorry driver to unload some bags of ice for a thorough check. The driver however, claimed that he was unable to do so due to some hand injuries.
4 Seeing that his hands looked fine, our officer became suspicious and directed the vehicle for a detailed scan at the Vehicle And Cargo Inspection System (VACIS). At the same time, the officer noticed from the driver's passport that he is only 20 years old, which is below the 21-year old legal standard required to drive a lorry of this size in Malaysia. Further checks by the ICA officer revealed that the driver was issued with a Multiple Journey Pass (MJP) for his job as a lorry attendant, and not a lorry driver. With all the discrepancies noted, the driver was questioned further and he finally succumbed and admitted that he did not have a valid driving license.
5 Our officers proceeded to remove the bags of ice from the lorry and a total of 3,497 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes were unearthed. The cigarettes are worth an estimated street value of $314,730.00, with the customs duty and GST amounting to $246,188.80 and $15,736.50 respectively.
6 The driver, vehicle and case exhibits will be handed over to the Singapore Customs for further investigations.
7 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. We would like to advise the public against smuggling unlawful goods into Singapore.
END OF NEWS RELEASE
Immigration & Checkpoints Authority
29 Sep 2005