SINGAPORE: A total of 4,500 cartons of contraband cigarettes were discovered in the modified compartment of a prime mover at the Jurong Port checkpoint, the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said in a news release on Tuesday.
According to ICA, an officer noticed anomalies in the scanned images of the 40-footer container on Nov 4. The driver of the Singapore-registered prime mover, a male Chinese national, had claimed that the container was empty. The ICA officer then directed the vehicle for further inspection.
The 4,500 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes were found hidden in a modified compartment of the container. The 31-year-old driver, as well as the vehicle, were handed over to Singapore Customs for further investigations, ICA said.
The potential duty and Goods and Services Tax of the duty-unpaid cigarettes amounted to about S$429,900 and S$40,070, respectively, ICA added.
