SINGAPORE - The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) foiled a plan by smugglers on Tuesday (Jan 25) to bring in 25,590 e-vaporiser refill pods from Malaysia in a lorry carrying empty tins and plastic caps.

In a Facebook post on Friday (Jan 28), the ICA said that its officers at Tuas Checkpoint found the pods after directing the lorry to undergo further checks.

The refill pods were found in the driver's rest area behind the front seats of the lorry, hidden by a cloth and a grey tarpaulin sheet. The pods were seized.

The lorry driver, a Malaysian national, was referred to the Health Sciences Authority for further investigation.

The incident came three days after the ICA thwarted an attempt to smuggle 400 e-vaporisers and 8,100 refill pods through Woodlands Checkpoint on Jan 22 in a lorry transporting chilled fruit.

The ICA said safeguarding Singapore's borders remains its top priority.

Those guilty of buying e-vaporisers online and shipping them to Singapore for personal use can be fined up to $10,000 and jailed for up to six months.