ICA foils cigarette-smuggling attempt

[Cammy]

ICA foils cigarette-smuggling attempt

Posted: 23 March 2011 2356 hrs

Contraband items uncovered from a modified floorboard of the lorry (ICA).

SINGAPORE: A Malaysian man was arrested on Tuesday for trying to smuggle contraband cigarettes into Singapore.

The loot was hidden in a false floorboard of a 40-foot lorry, under 36 tonnes of cement.

A routine scan revealed anomalies, and a crane was sent in to lift the sacks of cement off, before customs officers prised the floorboards open.

Packed into the modified compartment was a total of 2,151 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes, worth more than S$165,000 in customs duty and GST.

Another 1,053 packets of chewing tobacco were uncovered, worth about S$60,000 in unpaid tax.

The 21-year-old driver claimed he was paid RM230 to deliver the consignment from Johor to Defu Lane.

He is now under investigations.

First-time offenders face a fine amounting to 20 times the value of evaded duty, and a jail term of up to three years.

-CNA/wk