SINGAPORE: A total of 4,098 cartons of contraband cigarettes were seized after three separate attempts were made to smuggle them through the Jurong Port Main Gate (JPMG), the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said in a news release here the other day.
ICA added that the attempts were made within a span of five days, and these cigarettes were found concealed in various consignments.
he first attempt was made by a 48-year-old Singaporean last Friday. He drove his lorry to JPMG but was stopped by the ICA officers for checks. The consignment – declared as cabinets and tables – was directed to the Jurong Scanning Station for radiographic scanning after officers observed anomalies in the scanned images, ICA said.
“During the course of checks, our officers detected a total of 1,648 cartons of contraband cigarettes hidden in the base and side walls of all the cabinets and tables,” the press release said.
In the second attempt on Tuesday, ICA said another lorry driven by a 53-year-old Singaporean was stopped by the ICA officers for checks at JPMG.
Similarly, this consignment – which was declared as pallets of painting, drawings and pastels – was directed to JSS for radiographic scanning.
ICA said that the paintings were stacked in three pallets. Officers removed the first few paintings and found a hollow space, which was filled with contraband cigarettes. A total of 900 cartons of contraband cigarettes were recovered, it said.
In the last attempt, a lorry driven by a 39-year-old Singaporean arrived at JPMG for clearance on Wednesday. The consignment was declared to be sound proof panels. Upon opening the panels, ICA officers uncovered 1,550 cartons of contraband cigarettes.
According to ICA, the total sum of the potential duty and Goods and Services Tax (GST) evaded for all three cases amounted to about S$390,080 and S$35,110 respectively.
All three Singaporeans, contraband cigarettes and vehicles for all cases have been handed over to the Singapore Customs for investigations. The vehicles used in the commission of such offences are also liable to be forfeited, ICA added.
