SINGAPORE: The Immigration and Checkpoints (ICA) authority said on Wednesday (Mar 13) it has seized 6,000 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes that had been hidden in game machines in a warehouse along Tuas Avenue 3.
ICA said that on Monday at about 1.30pm, its officers conducted checks on a 40-foot container after anomalies were detected in the scanned images of the consignment declared to contain 10 “Game Machines”.
The container had earlier been presented for clearance at the Pasir Panjang Scanning Station.
Claw machine units found to conceal duty-unpaid cigarettes by Immigration & Checkpoints Authority Officers. (Photo: Immigration & Checkpoints Authority)
“During the course of checks, the officers noticed the game machines were locked,” said ICA in a news release. “This further aroused the officers’ suspicion and they proceeded to pry open a game machine for closer examination.
“Officers found the interior of the game machine to be hollow and contained duty-unpaid cigarettes wrapped in several black bundles.”
The total duty and GST evaded amounted to about S$512,400 and S$37,780 respectively.
The case was handed over to Singapore Customs for further investigation, said ICA.
