Man tries to smuggle 4,510 sachets of chewing tobacco into Singapore on National Day

Thousands of sachets of illegal tobacco were stashed in the back seat, rear bumper, side panels, skirting and even the spare tyre of the car. PHOTO: FACEBOOK/IMMIGRATION & CHECKPOINTS AUTHORITY

SINGAPORE - While Singaporeans were busy celebrating the nation's birthday on Thursday (Aug 9), a car tried to smuggle thousands of sachets of chewing tobacco over the Causeway.

In a Facebook post on Friday afternoon, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said they found the 4,510 sachets concealed in almost every part of a Malaysia-registered car at Woodlands Checkpoint on Thursday.

The illegal tobacco was stashed in the back seat, rear bumper, side panels, skirting and even the spare tyre. A 25-year-old Malaysian man was the driver.

The case has since been referred to the Health Sciences Authority.

In the post, the ICA said that Singapore's borders are the nation's first line of defence in safeguarding Singapore's security.

"The ICA will continue to conduct security checks on passengers and vehicles at the checkpoints to prevent attempts to smuggle in undesirable persons, drugs, weapons, explosives and other contraband," it added.

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