SINGAPORE: Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers stationed at Woodlands Checkpoint thwarted multiple attempts to smuggle unpaid duties cigarettes in Malaysia-registered vehicles into the republic in the first half of last month.
Three Malaysia-registered vehicles entering the republic between Oct 2 and 11, underwent checks, and over 980 cartoons of undeclared cigarettes were found hidden in the vehicles.
ICA's official Facebook page stated that on October 2, officers identified irregularities in the scanned images of a Malaysia-registered car.
Upon thorough inspection, they found 246 cartons and 1,117 packets of undeclared cigarettes concealed in the car's bonnet.
On Oct 6, officers noticed anomalies in the scanned images of another Malaysia-registered car.
After a meticulous examination, it revealed a hidden cache of 379 cartons and 1,402 packets of undeclared cigarettes scattered throughout various parts of the vehicle.
While on Oct 11, officers detected suspicious elements in the scanned images of yet another Malaysia-registered car.
Subsequent inspections unveiled 355 cartons and 1,430 packets of undeclared cigarettes stowed away in different compartments of the vehicle.
All three cases were handed over to the Singapore Customs to facilitate investigations.
