Attempt to smuggle in duty-unpaid cigarettes on 13 August at Tuas Checkpoint was foiled by the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA).
In a press release earlier today (18 Aug), the ICA said that its officers conducted checks on a Malaysia-registered lorry at Tuas Checkpoint and found 5,026 cartons and 10 packets of assorted duty-unpaid cigarettes hidden underneath the lorry bed.
The lorry was conveying a consignment of precast concrete, it added.
The authority noted that during the course of checks, its officers had noticed anomalies around the exterior of the lorry and proceeded to pry open a small section of the lorry bed, revealing the duty-unpaid cigarettes hidden within it.
The case was then handed over to Singapore Customs for further investigation.
According to the ICA, the total duty and Goods and Services Tax (GST) evaded amounted to about S$429,310 and S$34,760 respectively.
The 47-year-old Malaysian driver has been charged in court and court proceedings are ongoing.
The authority asserted that this method of concealment used by contraband smugglers may be used by terrorists to smuggle arms and explosives to carry out attacks in Singapore, adding that it will continue to conduct security checks on people, goods, and conveyances at the checkpoints to prevent attempts to smuggle undesirable persons, drugs, weapons, explosives, and other contrabands across Singapore borders.
