A total of 3,500 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes were found hidden in two Malaysia-registered trucks at Tuas Checkpoint heading into Singapore on the same day.
Three Malaysian men have been arrested for the alleged smuggling attempts, said the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) in a Facebook post on Tuesday (30 Dec).
Source: Immigration & Checkpoints Authority on Facebook
Both incidents took place on 12 Dec, ICA said.
ICA’s radiographic image analysts spotted anomalies in the scanned images of both trucks.
They were then directed for enhanced checks.
Source: Immigration & Checkpoints Authority on Facebook
In the first case, more than 2,000 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes were uncovered.
They were concealed within a consignment declared as “tool box and drawer storage”.
Source: Immigration & Checkpoints Authority on Facebook
In the second case, 1,500 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes had been hidden within a consignment declared as “furniture”.
Source: Immigration & Checkpoints Authority on Facebook
Three Malaysian men have been arrested in connection with these cases, ICA said.
The suspects are aged 27, 28 and 33.
The men and the evidence were referred to Singapore Customs for further investigation.
Source: Immigration & Checkpoints Authority on Facebook
10 days later, a Malaysian man was nabbed for allegedly trying to smuggle drugs through Woodlands Checkpoint.
This happened on 22 Dec, after the 39-year-old was referred for enhanced checks, ICA said in a media release on 29 Dec.
He was targeted based on information received from ICA’s Integrated Targeting Centre.
In his bag, ICA officers found two black bundles believed to contain controlled drugs.
The Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) was alerted and conducted further checks on him, finding a total of seven bundles.
The bundles contained about 3,272g of cannabis and 1,709g of ‘Ice’, with an estimated worth of more than S$237,000.
Source: Immigration & Checkpoints Authority
The drugs could potentially feed the addiction of about 1,440 abusers for a week, ICA said.
The man was arrested, with investigations ongoing.
The death penalty may be imposed on those convicted of importing or exporting more than 250g of methamphetamine, or 500g of cannabis, according to Section 7 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1973.
ICA said it is “committed to facilitating trade and travel” while keeping Singapore’s borders safe and secure.
Hence, it will continue to work with the various agencies to conduct security checks at the checkpoints to prevent drugs, undesirable persons, weapons, explosives and other contrabands from crossing our borders.
Also read: 17,279 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes found in Pandan Loop & Jurong, 4 men arrested
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from Immigration & Checkpoints Authority on Facebook.