S’porean arrested after vapes & duty-unpaid cigarettes found in his bag at Woodlands Checkpoint

Over 40 vapes found in bag of S’porean who arrived at Woodlands Checkpoint via taxi

A 28-year-old Singaporean man was arrested when e-vaporisers, or vapes, and duty-unpaid cigarettes were found in his backpack at Woodlands Checkpoint.

He was attempting to enter Singapore via taxi, said the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) in a Facebook post on Thursday (9 April).

S’porean was travelling with elderly passenger in M’sia-registered taxi

Last Friday (3 April), the Singaporean arrived at Woodlands Checkpoint as a passenger in a Malaysia-registered taxi.

It was driven by a 70-year-old Malaysian man, and there was another 73-year-old passenger in the taxi besides the Singaporean.

However, ICA Search & Examination officers profiled the vehicle for enhanced checks.

Over 40 vapes & 26 packets of cigarettes found in bag

The officers subsequently found more than 40 vapes and related components in the Singaporean’s haversack.

Also inside the bag were 26 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes.

All the items were referred to Singapore Customs and Health Sciences Authority (HSA) for further investigation.

S’porean arrested for alleged smuggling

The Singaporean was arrested in connection with the alleged attempt to smuggle vaporisers and duty-unpaid cigarettes into Singapore.

ICA had previously said that border security is “a crucial aspect” of Singapore’s anti-vape enforcement strategy, adding:

As guardians of our borders, ICA is committed to facilitating trade & travel while keeping Singapore’s borders safe & secure.

Offence to import both vapes & duty-unpaid cigarettes

Under the Tobacco (Control of Advertisement and Sale) Act, importing, distributing, selling or offering to sell vapes and their components is an offence.

If convicted, offenders face up to six months in prison and/or a fine of up to S$10,000.

Repeat offenders may be jailed for up to 12 months and/or fined up to S$20,000.

Under the Customs Act and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act, buying, selling, conveying, delivering, storing, keeping, possessing, or dealing in duty-unpaid cigarettes are serious offences.

According to Singapore Customs, those convicted of offences involving duty-unpaid goods can be fined up to 40 times the amount of tax evaded and/or jailed for up to six years.

Also read: 42 travellers found with vapes at S’pore’s checkpoints over 4 days, 48% were local residents

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Featured image adapted from Immigration & Checkpoints Authority on Facebook.