ICA uncovers 4,000 cartons of cigarettes in truck

[Taishi Ci]

ICA uncovers 4,000 cartons of cigarettes in truck
By Alvina Soh | Posted: 13 September 2010 1937 hrs
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ICA uncovers 4,000 cartons of contraband cigarettes in this truck. </td> </tr> <tr> <td></td> <td class="update"></td> </tr> <tr> <td></td> <td>
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SINGAPORE: Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers uncovered 4,000 cartons of contraband cigarettes which were buried in a truck consignment of mushrooms and lettuce.

ICA officers at the Woodlands Checkpoint conducted manual checks Monday morning after a scan with the Malaysian-registered truck uncovered anomalies.

ICA said the cigarettes were found in eight boxes and stashed among the cartons of vegetables.

The potential customs duty for the duty-unpaid cigarettes amounted to S$281,600 and the GST amount was S$25,500.

The driver was a 31-year old Malaysian, and was accompanied by another 35-year old Malaysian man.

He claimed he needed money urgently and had agreed to smuggle cigarettes into Singapore for a fee of RM15,000.

For importing uncustomed goods, first-time offenders could be fined up to 20 times the amount of duty evaded and liable to a jail term not exceeding three years.

-CNA/wk