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Oct 16, 2009
Same car model, same crime <!--10 min-->
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TWO Mercedes-Benz cars of the same colour and the same make returning hours apart was an uncanny coincidence that did not go unnoticed by the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority officers. The first Singapore-registered vehicle approached the Woodlands checkpoint at 5.15pm on Oct 12. The driver appeared uneasily when an ICA officer talked to him and was subsequently searched. During a check of the rear passenger seats, officers found that the rear backrest had been bolted in a way that was almost impossible for anyone to lift. A total of 520 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes were discovered hidden in a modified fuel tank. They amounted to $3,700 and $330 of customs duty and GST respectively.
The 49-year-old man claimed that he was unemployed and in dire need of money, and had met 'Ah Leng', a Singaporean man in Geylang who asked that he smuggle the cigarettes from Malaysia to Singapore. 'Ah Leng' also got his car modified and fitted with a special compartment in the fuel tank. Barely two hours later, at about 7.50pm, ICA officers noticed another lone Singaporean male in a Mercedes Benz, where they uncovered the same modus operandi used to conceal cigarettes. A total of 466 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes were found. The 39-year old man said he had met 'Ah Weng', a Malaysian who modified his car and gave him instructions to drive to Johor Bahru for loading of the cigarettes. Both men, the contraband cigarettes and the modified cars were handed over to the Singapore Customs for further investigations.
Oct 16, 2009
Same car model, same crime <!--10 min-->
<!-- headline one : start --> <!-- headline one : end -->
TWO Mercedes-Benz cars of the same colour and the same make returning hours apart was an uncanny coincidence that did not go unnoticed by the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority officers. The first Singapore-registered vehicle approached the Woodlands checkpoint at 5.15pm on Oct 12. The driver appeared uneasily when an ICA officer talked to him and was subsequently searched. During a check of the rear passenger seats, officers found that the rear backrest had been bolted in a way that was almost impossible for anyone to lift. A total of 520 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes were discovered hidden in a modified fuel tank. They amounted to $3,700 and $330 of customs duty and GST respectively.
The 49-year-old man claimed that he was unemployed and in dire need of money, and had met 'Ah Leng', a Singaporean man in Geylang who asked that he smuggle the cigarettes from Malaysia to Singapore. 'Ah Leng' also got his car modified and fitted with a special compartment in the fuel tank. Barely two hours later, at about 7.50pm, ICA officers noticed another lone Singaporean male in a Mercedes Benz, where they uncovered the same modus operandi used to conceal cigarettes. A total of 466 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes were found. The 39-year old man said he had met 'Ah Weng', a Malaysian who modified his car and gave him instructions to drive to Johor Bahru for loading of the cigarettes. Both men, the contraband cigarettes and the modified cars were handed over to the Singapore Customs for further investigations.
