ICA, Customs officers make largest seizure or contraband cigarettes

[SwineHunter]

ICA, Customs officers make largest seizure or contraband cigarettes
By Shaffiq Alkhatib | Posted: 23 April 2010 2257 hrs
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The innocuous-looking lorry carrying the loot. </td> </tr> <tr> <td></td> <td class="update"></td> </tr> <tr> <td></td> <td>
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SINGAPORE : Authorities made their largest seizure of contraband cigarettes for the year this week.

Officers from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority and the Singapore Customs seized 9,791 cartons of contraband cigarettes worth S$979,100 on Tuesday.

Their duty payable came up to S$689,290 and the amount of GST evaded totalled S$62,370.

This seizure came about after an ICA officer inspected a Malaysia-registered lorry, which was carrying 789 pieces of plywood, at the Woodlands Checkpoint on Tuesday afternoon.

The officer became suspicious after he noted anomalies in the scanned images of the cargo. He then directed the driver to an inspection pit for a more thorough check.

He soon discovered that there was a hidden compartment on the lorry filled with cartons of cigarettes.

Customs officers then arrested the 31-year-old Malaysian driver, who told the authorities that he was instructed to deliver the loot to Sungei Kadut in Singapore. He was supposed to receive 125 ringgit (S$50) for the delivery.

If convicted of dealing with contraband cigarettes, first-time offenders could be jailed a maximum of three years and fined up to twenty times the amount of duty evaded.

- CNA/al