ICA calls bluff on Malaysia truck with goods declared as tubed ice, uncovers over 2,400 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes
Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers called the bluff on the driver of a Malaysia-registered lorry during an inspection at Woodlands Checkpoint on June 27.Pictures posted on its Facebook on Thursday (July 9) show a refrigerated truck with cartons stacked on several pallets.Shrink wrap was also used to pack the cartons neatly together, giving the cargo a legitimate appearance. According to ICA, the lorry, driven by a 56-year-old Malaysian man, had its consignment of goods declared as «tube ice». Acting on information received from its Integrated Targeting Centre, and anomalies in the scanned images of the vehicle detected by an ICA image analyst, the truck was directed for enhanced checks, where search and examination officers found over 2,400 cartons and more than 3,000 lose packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes.In this instance, the driver was arrested and the case referred to Singapore Customs for further investigation.Buying, selling, conveying, possessing or dealing with duty-unpaid goods are serious offences under the Customs Act and the Goods and Services Tax Act.