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ICA Officers Uncover Concrete Evidence of Cigarette Smuggling
ICA officers detected 1,400 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes hidden among 15 pallets of concrete hollow blocks in a lorry at Woodlands Checkpoint last night. At about 2000 hours on 18 Apr 05, ICA officers signalled a Malaysian -registered lorry for a routine check at the Arrival Cargo Bay. Our officers went onboard the lorry to inspect the consignment of concrete blocks and noticed, through the hollow concrete blocks that something was concealed at the centre of the pallet when they used a torch to shine through it.
2 Suspecting that some contraband could be hidden among the concrete blocks, our officers removed two layers of the concrete blocks and saw a layer of plywood. Upon removing the plywood, a cardboard box wrapped in a black polyethylene bag was found. The box contained cartons of contraband cigarettes. Our officers proceeded to do a thorough check of the lorry and found many more such boxes hidden among the concrete blocks. A total of 1,400 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes were found.
3 The total amount of customs duties and Goods & Services Tax involved for both cases are estimated to be S$98,600 and S$6,300 respectively. The estimated market value is S$154,000. The 19-year-old male Malaysian driver and his passenger, a 25-year-old male Malaysian both claimed that they did not know about the contraband cigarettes hidden on the lorry. The case was 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. We would like to advise the public against smuggling unlawful goods into Singapore.
END OF NEWS RELEASE
Immigration & Checkpoints Authority
19 Apr 2005
2 Suspecting that some contraband could be hidden among the concrete blocks, our officers removed two layers of the concrete blocks and saw a layer of plywood. Upon removing the plywood, a cardboard box wrapped in a black polyethylene bag was found. The box contained cartons of contraband cigarettes. Our officers proceeded to do a thorough check of the lorry and found many more such boxes hidden among the concrete blocks. A total of 1,400 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes were found.
3 The total amount of customs duties and Goods & Services Tax involved for both cases are estimated to be S$98,600 and S$6,300 respectively. The estimated market value is S$154,000. The 19-year-old male Malaysian driver and his passenger, a 25-year-old male Malaysian both claimed that they did not know about the contraband cigarettes hidden on the lorry. The case was 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. We would like to advise the public against smuggling unlawful goods into Singapore.
END OF NEWS RELEASE
Immigration & Checkpoints Authority
19 Apr 2005