1,534 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes found on Indonesia-registered tugboat
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A green cabinet was used to conceal a hatch that led to a tank where the duty-unpaid cigarettes were found.
PHOTOS: IMMIGRATION & CHECKPOINTS AUTHORITY/FACEBOOK
SINGAPORE - Few people would have given a green cabinet in the corner of a room in a tugboat even a glance.
But it did not escape the scrutiny of officers from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA), Police Coast Guard and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore on Nov 25.
They discovered that the cabinet was used to conceal a hatch that led to a tank on the tugboat, where 1,534 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes were found.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday (Dec 1), ICA said Indonesia-registered tugboat Maju Daya 87 was intercepted in a multi-agency operation within Singapore territorial waters.
It was suspected to be smuggling prohibited items into the country.
The case was referred to the Singapore Customs for further investigations, said ICA.
Eight Indonesian nationals aged between 19 and 34 were arrested by the Singapore Customs and charged in court last Friday.
The potential customs duty evaded amounted to about $207,820, and the GST evaded was about $15,620.
ICA said that similar concealment methods may be used by terrorists to smuggle security items into Singapore.
"ICA will continue to work with relevant government agencies to conduct security checks to detect and deter smuggling attempts to keep Singapore safe," said the Facebook post.
Buying, selling, conveying, delivering, storing, keeping, having in possession or dealing with duty-unpaid goods are serious offences under the Customs Act and the GST Act. Offenders can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty and GST evaded, jailed for up to six years, or both.
