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ICA Foils Smuggler's Attempt to Use His Family as Decoys
Hearing your father announce that he is bringing the family for a holiday will usually make you jump with joy and excitement. But how will you react if you know that the sightseeing trip is a cover for his smuggling activities and he is using the family as a decoy? A man had tried to smuggle cigarettes into Singapore by hiding them in the car door panels. He had also brought his family along in the hope that ICA officers would not check the family group which included two children. He found out too late that ICA also stands for 'I Check All' when ICA officers foiled his smuggling attempt.
2 The man, a 37-year-old Malaysian, came to Woodlands checkpoint in a Malaysian-registered car on 18 Aug 05 at about 1900 hours. He was accompanied by his 35-year-old wife and two children, a son aged 6 and a daughter aged 5. His vehicle was stopped for a routine check. Our eagle-eyed officers discovered that the covers for the door panels of the car were loose. They proceeded to do a thorough check on the car and detected a total of 38 cartons and 62 loose packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes hidden in the four door panels of the car.
3 The man was immediately placed under arrest and his vehicle seized. He revealed that he was promised RM500 by a Malaysian to smuggle the cigarettes in. He would then drive to and park the car at Kallang. After which he had planned to bring his family for a few hours of sightseeing before driving the same vehicle back to Malaysia. He admitted that he had brought his family along, using them as decoys for his smuggling attempt. He had thought that ICA officers would not check family groups with young children so thoroughly. 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 other contraband. 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. The cases include offensive weapons, duty-unpaid cigarettes, obscene VCDs as well as endangered species in wild fauna and flora. We would like to advise the public against smuggling unlawful goods into Singapore.
END OF NEWS RELEASE
Immigration & Checkpoints Authority
19 Aug 2005
2 The man, a 37-year-old Malaysian, came to Woodlands checkpoint in a Malaysian-registered car on 18 Aug 05 at about 1900 hours. He was accompanied by his 35-year-old wife and two children, a son aged 6 and a daughter aged 5. His vehicle was stopped for a routine check. Our eagle-eyed officers discovered that the covers for the door panels of the car were loose. They proceeded to do a thorough check on the car and detected a total of 38 cartons and 62 loose packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes hidden in the four door panels of the car.
3 The man was immediately placed under arrest and his vehicle seized. He revealed that he was promised RM500 by a Malaysian to smuggle the cigarettes in. He would then drive to and park the car at Kallang. After which he had planned to bring his family for a few hours of sightseeing before driving the same vehicle back to Malaysia. He admitted that he had brought his family along, using them as decoys for his smuggling attempt. He had thought that ICA officers would not check family groups with young children so thoroughly. 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 other contraband. 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. The cases include offensive weapons, duty-unpaid cigarettes, obscene VCDs as well as endangered species in wild fauna and flora. We would like to advise the public against smuggling unlawful goods into Singapore.
END OF NEWS RELEASE
Immigration & Checkpoints Authority
19 Aug 2005