SINGAPORE - A whopping 6,000 cartons of contraband cigarettes were found in a Malaysia-registered prime mover at Tuas Checkpoint on Friday (May 18).

Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers directed the prime mover for checks at about 4.15pm, after detecting anomalies in the scanned images of the consignment.

The officers found contraband cigarettes concealed in a consignment of printer parts and roller scanners.

The total duty and Goods and Services Tax evaded amounted to about $512,400 and $37,556 respectively.

The driver, a 50-year-old Malaysian man, was handed over to Singapore Customs along with his vehicle for further investigations.

ICA said in its statement on Monday that Singapore's borders are its first line of defence in safeguarding the country's security.

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