Over 2,000 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes hidden in modified roof compartment of prime mover

A Malaysian-registered prime mover was found with 2,278 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes concealed within a modified roof compartment of an empty container on Monday (Oct 14).

The prime mover was driven by a 29-year-old Malaysian man.

At about 9.50am on Saturday (Oct 12), a total of 925 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes were found concealed in a modified compartment underneath the floorboard of the Malaysia-registered bus.

The bus was driven by a 28-year-old male Malaysian and was ferrying several passengers into Singapore.

In three days, Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers uncovered more than 3,000 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes concealed in an arriving Malaysia-registered prime mover and bus at Tuas Checkpoint.

In both cases, ICA officers had noticed anomalies in scanned images of the vehicles and directed them for further checks.    

Both drivers were immediately placed under arrest and the cases were handed over to the Singapore Customs for further investigations.

In a statement by the ICA on Wednesday (Oct 16), they said that the total duty and Goods and Services Tax (GST) for both cases amounted to about $291,470 and $21,400 respectively.

Both drivers have been charged in court.

View more photos in the gallery.