Two Men Caught Smuggling 2,500 Cartons of Cigarettes At Woodland Checkpoint

We all know that despite the ban, some Singaporeans sneak a pack or two of chewing gum into the country after going abroad.

Even I may or may not have brought back a couple of-

Police officer: Aha! Got you. Arrest him, boys!

Oh, no! I meant my friends brought back some chewing gum. 

Police officer: Which friends? I want names!

Oh, no! I- I meant I may have heard that some people bring chewing gum back sometimes. 

Police officer: *slams desk* WHO, WHO HAS BROUGHT CHEWING GUM INTO SINGAPORE?!

I DON’T KNOW, I WAS JUST TRYING TO CREATE A RELATABLE INTRODUCTION FOR THIS STORY.

Police officer: OK. REMEMBER, LOW CRIME DOESN’T MEAN NO CRIME. 

Some people may get away with bringing a stick or two of chewing gum into Singapore, but if you’re trying to smuggle 2,500 cartons of cigarettes, it’s kind of hard to hide.

But that’s exactly what two Malaysian men did.

Caught with 2,500 cartons of cigarettes at Woodlands Checkpoint

According to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA), two men were caught trying to smuggle 2,500 cartons of contraband cigarettes into Singapore.

On Tuesday (Oct 1), ICA officers noticed anomalies in the scanned image of a consignment in a Malaysia-registered lorry and stopped it to inspect it further, according to CNA.

They then found 2,500 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes concealed in wooden planks.

The two Malaysian men involved, aged 38 and 19, were referred to Singapore Customs for further investigation.

ICA also said that the lorry is liable to be forfeited.

More instances of contraband cigarettes smuggling

This incident is just one of many recent attempts to smuggle contraband cigarettes into Singapore.

Last month, in four separate cases, ICA officers caught three Singaporeans and a Russian for trying to smuggle cigarettes into Singapore.

The four men hid the cigarettes inside their socks, boots, and around their waist and ankles.

A Malaysian man was also caught on Sep 11 trying to smuggle contraband cigarettes into the country after ICA officers noticed a suspicious bulge in his groin area.

ICA officer: Hey, what’s that big bulge in your pants?

*winks* Only the lucky ones get to find out.

Rather than having something about his anatomy to brag about, the bulge was actually 10 packets of cigarettes that he had hidden around his hip and groin area.

Basically, no matter where you hide illegal items, ICA officers will find it.

Even if it’s carefully concealed in wooden planks on a lorry, or in your underwear.