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ICA Exposes the Seat of Deceit
A Malaysian man thought that he was sitting on a goldmine by smuggling in contraband cigarettes from Malaysia. He also thought that he had a foolproof plan to bring in the illegal goods - he had hidden the cigarettes under the rear passenger seat of his son's car, and he had brought his two nieces with him to allay the suspicions of ICA officers at Woodlands Checkpoint. What he did not count on was the dedication ICA officers had for their work in keeping out undesirable persons and preventing the smuggling of unlawful goods through the checkpoints. His plan was foiled when his `seat of deceit' was exposed.
2 On 22 Sep 2005 at about 0700 hours, the 44-year-old Malaysian man drove into Singapore through Woodlands checkpoint in a blue Malaysian registered car. Our vigilant officers stopped his car for a routine check, and discovered that the rear passenger seat was rather loose. They proceeded to do a thorough check on the seat and found 35 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes hidden underneath the seat.
3 The driver was immediately placed under arrest and his car seized. His two nieces, both aged 24, claimed that they were not aware of the hidden packets of cigarettes. The total amount of customs duties and Goods & Services Tax involved is estimated to be S$260. 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 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 contraband items. In the first six months of this year, we have detected more than 7,000 cases of contraband and illegal goods being imported into Singapore. Illegally smuggled cigarettes saw more than a 100% increase from the previous year, with more than 120,000 packets detected. We would like to advise the public against smuggling unlawful goods into Singapore.
END OF NEWS RELEASE
Immigration & Checkpoints Authority
22 Sep 2005
2 On 22 Sep 2005 at about 0700 hours, the 44-year-old Malaysian man drove into Singapore through Woodlands checkpoint in a blue Malaysian registered car. Our vigilant officers stopped his car for a routine check, and discovered that the rear passenger seat was rather loose. They proceeded to do a thorough check on the seat and found 35 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes hidden underneath the seat.
3 The driver was immediately placed under arrest and his car seized. His two nieces, both aged 24, claimed that they were not aware of the hidden packets of cigarettes. The total amount of customs duties and Goods & Services Tax involved is estimated to be S$260. 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 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 contraband items. In the first six months of this year, we have detected more than 7,000 cases of contraband and illegal goods being imported into Singapore. Illegally smuggled cigarettes saw more than a 100% increase from the previous year, with more than 120,000 packets detected. We would like to advise the public against smuggling unlawful goods into Singapore.
END OF NEWS RELEASE
Immigration & Checkpoints Authority
22 Sep 2005