O
Orochi
Guest
Singapore
Mar 16, 2010
Three times unlucky
<!-- by line --> By Lin Yingxin
THREE separate attempts to smuggle contraband items through Woodlands checkpoint within a span of 24 hours went awry, as more than 2,000 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes with the potential customs duty of $14,000 and Goods and Services Tax (GST) of $1,270 were flushed out by alert Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers. The three petty smugglers reused old methods of concealing the contraband items, in the vain belief that the officers were only looking out for new smuggling methods.
In the first attempt on Tuesday, a stash of duty-unpaid cigarettes hidden inside the spare tyre of a Singapore-registered car during a routine check prompted an ICA officer to further inspect the vehicle. More packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes were found in various hiding places, with some being strapped to the rear seat and backrest.
The following morning, an ICA officer spotted a larger than usual speaker box in the boot of a Malaysia-registered car. Duty-unpaid cigarettes were found concealed inside the box, and a thorough scan found more contraband cigarettes hidden behind car door panels, among other hiding places.
Barely hours later, the third smuggler was caught. The loose screws of the speaker in the car boot gave his game away, with a further scan detecting more cigarette packets behind the side panel of the car boot. All three culprits were handed over to the Singapore Customs (SC) for further investigations.
Mar 16, 2010
Three times unlucky
<!-- by line --> By Lin Yingxin
THREE separate attempts to smuggle contraband items through Woodlands checkpoint within a span of 24 hours went awry, as more than 2,000 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes with the potential customs duty of $14,000 and Goods and Services Tax (GST) of $1,270 were flushed out by alert Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers. The three petty smugglers reused old methods of concealing the contraband items, in the vain belief that the officers were only looking out for new smuggling methods.
In the first attempt on Tuesday, a stash of duty-unpaid cigarettes hidden inside the spare tyre of a Singapore-registered car during a routine check prompted an ICA officer to further inspect the vehicle. More packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes were found in various hiding places, with some being strapped to the rear seat and backrest.
The following morning, an ICA officer spotted a larger than usual speaker box in the boot of a Malaysia-registered car. Duty-unpaid cigarettes were found concealed inside the box, and a thorough scan found more contraband cigarettes hidden behind car door panels, among other hiding places.
Barely hours later, the third smuggler was caught. The loose screws of the speaker in the car boot gave his game away, with a further scan detecting more cigarette packets behind the side panel of the car boot. All three culprits were handed over to the Singapore Customs (SC) for further investigations.
