TWO Malaysians were arrested at the Woodlands Checkpoint for smuggling contraband items into Singapore within a span of 12 hours on Monday and Tuesday.

Immigration officers directed the black Malaysia-registered Kia Spectra for further checks after the evasive behaviour of the lone male driver aroused their suspicion.

Upon closer inspection of the vehicle, officers found optical discs (DVDs/VCDs) wrapped in plastic stashed inside the vehicle's fuel tank, rear fender and rear boot cover, which had been modified to conceal the illicit items.

It was at this point that the 25-year-old Malaysian Chinese driver broke down and admitted knowledge of the 2,071 pieces of uncensored and suspected obscene discs found in the car.

He told officers he was to await further instructions upon entering Singapore successfully.

Currently unemployed, the man said he had been enticed by the offer of RM300 (S$126) by the piracy syndicate.

Both the driver and the illegal DVDs/VCDs have been handed over to the Singapore Police Force for further investigations.

In the second case, a Malay man was arrested at about 5 am on Tuesday after 115 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes were found hidden in the modified floorboard and fuel tank of his car.

Convinced that the illegal imports were safely tucked away, the man appeared cool and collected even when his silver Proton Waja was directed for further inspection. Sharp-eyed officers, however, noticed the floorboard of the vehicle was misaligned and uncovered the illegal items.

The 32-year-old man later confessed that he had sold out for RM600 for what seemed to be an easy mule job. He said he had been told he only had to drive the car to a specific location in Aljunied for the stash to be unloaded before he could collect his payment.

The potential Customs duty and GST payable for the contraband items amount to about $11,000 and $990 respectively.

The case has been referred to Singapore Customs for further investigations.