TEH tarik, mee goreng, chicken rice - and contraband cigarettes.

That is what you could get at Bedok Interchange recently.

The food came from regular stalls at the hawker centre there.

The cigarettes came out from among the pots and pans.

The New Paper observed this over several days when we went undercover to expose the illegal operation.

The cigarette peddlers were busy in the smokers' corner and mingled with their patrons over coffee and beer.

At other times, they looked like busy vendors, stacking up utensils and unwrapping what looked like packets of seasoning on top of a cabinet resting against a wall.

They blended in with genuine hawkers to hide the cheap smokes near coolers and boxes.

When their customers arrived and raised their hands to place orders, packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes would be discreetly handed over and money would change hands.

They even had utensils to serve as hiding places.

Cookers used for steamed rice were being used as containers for the contraband cigarettes.

Day and night, the sale of contraband cigarettes at the hawker centre was brisk, with a sale made almost every five minutes.

Still, the operation was run so discreetly that it was hard for the average person to notice the men's activities, said one Bedok North resident.

Said Mr Ahmad Wahab, 26, a university student: 'I was eating at a table near the men (cigarette peddlers) when I saw something peculiar.

'One man reached into an insulated container, where hawkers usually keep steamed rice, and pulled out packs of cigarettes.'

The peddlers did take precautions.

They did not tout their services and brought out the illicit cigarettes only when an order was placed.

Loyal customers would often stop to chat with them before walking away with the $5 pack of cigarettes.

A similar pack, containing 20 sticks, costs $11.60 where it is sold legally.

Mr Ahmad said that when he had eaten at the hawker centre during the last three months, the same peddlers would be present.

Another resident, a 52-year-old who gave her name only as Mrs Chia, said she knew something fishy was going on.

Said Mrs Chia, who lives in a flat facing the hawker centre: 'Something wasn't right... The men were always there as though they did not have to go to work.

'At first I thought they were hawker's assistants on a cigarette break.

'It made sense only when my nephew told me that the men were selling cigarettes.'

Both Mr Ahmad and Mrs Chia said they had not made any police reports.

Unlike the cigarette peddlers in Geylang, who have been seen brazenly waving their cigarette cartons to passers-by, the peddlers at the hawker centre were more discreet.

The Bedok peddlers sold their illegal cigarettes only to regulars.

Those seen buying from them included adults drinking beer nearby, and even students in uniforms.

One parent, Mr S Viknesh, 40, said business seemed to be 'good' during peak hours.

Workers alighting at the bus interchange would sometimes head to the illegal cigarette shop after work, he said.

From 2pm, students could be seen at the smoking area.

Said Mr Viknesh: 'I think the cigarette touts are popular with students because there is no need to play 'hide and seek' when buying the cigarettes.

'The students can pretend to be eating there, and then easily wave their hands to the touts to get their nicotine fix.

'If nearby schools send their representatives there after school hours, I'm sure teachers can nab some of their students.'

When we were there, we saw that the men usually worked in groups of four, concealing their cigarettes beside a wall.

Boxes of vegetables, sauces, utensils and cabinets were lined against this shoulder-high wall and the cigarettes would come out from spaces between these.

At other times, the men would take the cigarettes out from two big sports bags placed against the wall.

While a hawker was busy pouring some gravy into a plastic bag last Monday night, one peddler standing beside her was seen throwing away newspaper used to wrap the cigarettes.

Surely, some hawkers would have been aware of the illegal activities?

But the hawkers wouldn't say much.

One drinks stall operator echoed what four other foodstall owners had said: 'It's none of my business.'

Nevertheless, the cheap sale was not meant to last.

On Wednesday, Singapore Customs officers arrested a 34-year-old Singaporean at the hawker centre.

He had 79 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes.

In Bedok alone, 410 buyers of contraband cigarettes were booked and eight illegal peddlers were arrested last year.

Convicted peddlers face fines of up to $5,000 or prosecution in court.

If you're caught buying one pack of contraband cigarettes, you can be fined $500 or prosecuted in court.

This article was first published by The New Paper on Jan 21, 2008.

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