SINGAPORE: More than 3,750 cartons of contraband cigarettes were found stashed in two Malaysia-registered vehicles at Singapore’s land checkpoints in the past few days, said the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) on Monday.
Last Friday, ICA officers found 2,600 cartons of contraband cigarettes among boxes of frozen vegetarian products on a Malaysia-registered lorry at Woodlands Checkpoint. The vehicle, driven by a 35-year-old Malaysian man, came under closer scrutiny after anomalies in the scanned images raised their suspicions.
In a separate incident at 12.50am on Monday, officers found 1,151 cartons of contraband cigarettes hidden underneath a Malaysia-registered bus and between the vehicle’s front wheels at Tuas checkpoint. A 44-year-old Malaysian man was driving the bus.
The potential duty and Goods and Services Tax evaded in the two cases were about S$319,020 and S$29,630 respectively, said ICA. The vehicles, contraband cigerettes and the drivers have been handed over to Singapore Customs for investigations.
