1,250 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes were discovered in a consignment declared as “iron or steel” and “packing or wrapping machines” amongst other consignments.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday (28 July), the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) stated that its officers detected anomalies in the scanned images of the container when it was presented for clearance at the Pasir Panjang Scanning Station on 20 July.
The officers then conducted an unstuffing operation at the importer’s premises at Tuas South Link and uncovered the duty-unpaid cigarettes.
The case was referred to the Singapore Customs for further investigation.
Under the Customs Act, any person who fails to declare, or make an incorrect declaration of taxable goods, can be compounded up to S$5,000, or charged in Court, depending on the severity of the offence.
The ICA asserted that this method of concealment is a cause for concern as similar methods may be used by people with ill intent to smuggle security items into Singapore, adding that it will continue to conduct security checks on passengers, goods, and vehicles to safeguard Singapore’s security.