SINGAPORE - A Malaysia-registered lorry was found to have concealed 3,346 cartons of contraband cigarettes in a modified compartment on its roof during an inspection at Woodlands Checkpoint on Friday (May 6) afternoon.

The potential duty and Goods and Services Tax of the cigarettes amounted to $259,650 and $26,140 respectively, the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said in a statement on Monday.

The lorry, driven by a 39-year-old male Malaysian, was carrying a consignment declared to contain 100 rolls of "Single-Face Roll Papers", ICA said.

The driver, the cigarettes and the lorry were handed over to Singapore Customs for further investigations, with the vehicle liable to be forfeited.

ICA said it will continue to conduct security checks on passengers and vehicles at checkpoints to prevent attempts to smuggle in undesirable persons, drugs and other contrabands.

It added that the same methods of concealment used by contraband smugglers may be used by terrorists to smuggle arms and explosives to carry out attacks in Singapore.