183 Cartons Of Contraband Cigarettes Seized After Car ‘Broke Down’ At Woodlands Checkpoint

Car breakdowns are not uncommon. Vehicles are prone to malfunctioning, and it can happen anytime, anywhere.

But if you’re just that unlucky dude, your car might break down at Woodlands Checkpoint.

And if you’re especially unlucky, all your 183 cartons and 973 packets of contraband cigarettes might be seized by the authorities, and you might find yourself slapped with a hefty fine.

Or worse, behind bars. Which is what happened to this unlucky fella:

183 Cartons Of Contraband Cigarettes Seized After Car ‘Broke Down’ At Woodlands Checkpoint

On the fateful day of 3 December 2019, Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers chanced upon 183 cartons and 973 packets of contraband cigarettes at Woodlands Checkpoint (accidentally, kind of).

Damn, that’s a lot of cigarettes.

ICA took to Facebook to share a humour-filled post. “Car broke down? We will break it down further!” They even went so far as to describe their officers as “vigilant”.

Nice one lah, ICA.

Here’s the story.

A couple of vigilant officers used their spidey senses to sense something amiss. A car had broken down at the arrival immigration area and that certainly did not happen every day.

The officers decided to move the car to a “secured location” to do further checks. And their suspicions were rewarded when a large amount of contraband/unpaid cigarettes were seized, hidden sneakily in different parts of the car.

A 37-year-old Singaporean man was the one behind the ploy, who was referred to Singapore customs for more investigation.

Fun fact: Did you know that vehicles used in the commission of such crimes can be forfeited?

You can actually lose your vehicle.

Don’t know whether can get back the PARF and COE rebate or not, though.

You can read the full post here:

Moral of the story? Just don’t smuggle contraband, please?

Those who are found guilty of importing contraband cigarettes into Singapore can be fined up to S$5,000. #ItsNotWorthIt