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Food may be preserved through the process of smoking by exposing it to the smoke from burning wood.
This method was improvised by some cigarettes smugglers by creating a 'smokescreen' to divert the attention of the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers.
ICA officers manning the Vehicle and Cargo Inspection System (VACIS) noticed some abnormalities in the printed image of a consignment of frozen fish and directed the Malaysian-registered refrigerated truck for checks.
In the course of inspection, the boxes of frozen fish, each weighing about 20kg, had been stacked fully to the top of the truck, making it difficult for a thorough check of the consignment.
However after removing the first few boxes of fish, officers discovered some unmarked boxes, hidden within the consignment. Suspecting something amiss, they opened the unmarked boxes and found an array of contraband cigarettes hidden within.
A total of 3,720 cartons, comprising more than 700,000 sticks of assorted cigarettes, were retrieved. The total customs duty and GST payable on the tobacco smuggled amounted to $305,000 and $25,600 respectively.
The driver and his companions, aged 27 and 29, admitted knowledge of the contraband found. They claimed to have been promised payment if the consignment was successfully delivered to the local syndicate contact.
Upon conviction by the court, first-time offenders can be fined up to a maximum of 20 times the amount of duty evaded.
For second or subsequent convictions, offenders can be jailed for up to two years, as well as being fined. The offenders also face further fines based on the amount of GST evaded.
The truck used in conveying the contraband would be seized or confiscated.
It is the responsibility of vehicle owners operating across the borders to ensure that their vehicles are not used for smuggling as they would ultimately have to bear the cost of their employees' wrongdoing.
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