ICA uncovers 42,000 cartons of illegal cigarettes falsely declared as rubber mats
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ICA officers noticed anomalies in the scanned images of a container, and had it further inspected. They then found the cigarettes and tobacco.
PHOTO: ICA/FACEBOOK
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SINGAPORE – A total of 42,000 cartons of undeclared duty-unpaid cigarettes and 4,800 packets of duty-unpaid tobacco were uncovered in a container at Pasir Panjang Scanning Station on Aug 20.
In a Facebook post on Sept 2, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said that its officers noticed anomalies in the scanned images of a container, and had it further inspected.
The officers then found the cigarettes and tobacco, which had been declared as rubber mats.
The case was referred to the Singapore Customs for further investigation.
This is not the first creative attempt to smuggle duty-unpaid cigarettes into Singapore.
In 2021, ICA found 11,285 cartons and 7,685 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes hidden inside Chinese God of Fortune figurines
In 2019, 138 cartons and 270 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes were recovered from a modified roof compartment of a van
In a separate case, a 52-year-old Malaysian man was found trying smuggle 32 packets of contraband cigarettes in loaves of bread
