A total of 7498 cartons and 16 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes hidden among the consignment in a 20-footer container were seized last Thursday (27 December).
Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said that its officers at Pasir Panjang Scanning Station conducted checks on a Singapore-registered truck. Officers noticed anomalies in the scanned images of the consignment declared as rockwool insulations and conducted a course of check which led to the finding.
The case was then handed over to Singapore Customs for further investigation.
According to the authority, the total duty and Goods and Services Tax (GST) evaded amounted to about $640,460 and $46,940 respectively.
ICA stressed that it will continue to conduct security checks on passengers, cargos and vehicles at the checkpoints to prevent attempts to smuggle undesirable persons, drugs, weapons, explosives and other contrabands. The same methods of concealment used by contraband smugglers may be used by terrorists to smuggle arms and explosives to carry out attacks in Singapore.
