Three Indonesian men suspected of smuggling contraband cigarettes were arrested on Monday, after a wooden boat plying along Jurong River was stopped for checks.

Officers from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and the Police Coast Guard found 62 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes hidden in various compartments of the boat.

The case involving the three suspects, aged between 29 and 61, was referred to the Singapore Customs, ICA said in a Facebook post yesterday.

The operation was conducted in an effort to step up security checks on vessels plying along Singapore's territorial waters.

ICA said it would continue to conduct security checks on passengers and vehicles to prevent smuggling attempts of undesirable people, drugs, weapons, explosives or other contraband items.

"The same methods of concealment used by smugglers may be used by terrorists to smuggle arms and explosives to carry out attacks in Singapore," it added.