Drugs and contraband cigarettes seized at Woodlands Checkpoint within 24 hours

SINGAPORE - An arriving Singapore-registered car driven by a lone male Singaporean Chinese was found by Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers to contain packets of drugs hidden underneath the front passenger seat and spare tyre.

About 512g of cannabis and 52g of 'ice' were seized in the bust on Jan 27, 2014.

The estimated street value of the drug seizure is about $27,300. The 59-year-old Singaporean was immediately arrested. Investigations are on-going.

A few hours later on Jan 28 at around 4.45am, ICA officers directed a Singapore-registered car for a routine inspection at the arrival car zone. The car was driven by a male Singaporean Malay who was accompanied by his family of five. During the course of checks, ICA officers found duty-unpaid cigarettes hidden in the rear compartment of the car. More duty-unpaid cigarettes were uncovered under the rear seat.

A total of 150 cartons of assorted duty-unpaid cigarettes were retrieved from the car. The estimated street value of the duty-unpaid cigarettes is worth more than $17,000. The evaded duty and GST involved amounted to more than $13,000 and $1,100 respectively. The 41-year-old Singaporean, the duty-unpaid cigarettes and the seized car were referred to Singapore Customs for further investigations.

candicec@sph.com.sg