The discovery of 192 bottles of undeclared alcoholic beverages inside a cargo container at the scanning station in Pasir Panjang was recently made by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA).
The ICA shared on their Facebook page that these bottles were cleverly concealed among personal belongings. On May 10, during the scanning process, these bottles were identified as irregularities in the images of the inbound cargo container.
The ICA emphasized that this incident was one of three similar cases involving undeclared alcoholic beverages and suspected counterfeit watches found in inbound cargo containers. In a separate occurrence on May 1, a cargo container at Tuas Port was found to contain 18 bottles of alcohol and 132 watches that were seized. These items were cleverly hidden amidst various other cargo and were discovered during inspection.
On May 16, a third incident took place at Tanjong Pagar Scanning Station, where ICA officers uncovered 990 sets of undeclared smart watches hidden among assorted cargo during inspection. Similar to the previous cases, these items were detected as anomalies during the scanning process.
Following the discovery of these cases, Singapore Customs was subsequently notified and will be conducting further investigations.
It is important to note that under the Customs Act, individuals who knowingly evade or attempt to evade customs duty or excise duty can face severe penalties. This includes fines of up to 20 times the amount of duty and GST evaded or imprisonment for a maximum of two years.
ICA’s statement on Facebook
𝐖 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫… 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 & 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐞
ICA officers from Ports Command foiled three attempts at smuggling in undeclared duty-unpaid 𝐖ine, suspected counterfeit 𝐖atches, and undeclared smart 𝐖atches via inbound cargo containers, within three weeks at different port facilities.
On 1 May, ICA officers at Tuas Port detected anomalies in the scanned images of a cargo container. During checks, a total of 18 bottles of undeclared alcoholic beverages and 132 suspected counterfeit watches were uncovered hidden amongst other assorted cargo.
On 10 May, ICA officers at Pasir Panjang Scanning Station detected anomalies in the scanned images of another cargo container. A total of 192 bottles of undeclared alcoholic beverages was uncovered hidden amongst personal effects during checks.
On 16 May, ICA officers at Tanjong Pagar Scanning Station detected anomalies in the scanned images of another cargo container. A total of 990 sets of undeclared smart watches was uncovered hidden amongst other assorted cargo during checks.
The cases were referred to Singapore Customs for further investigation.
ICA conducts checks to detect and deter the non-declaration of dutiable and taxable goods brought into Singapore.
As Guardians of Our Borders, ICA is committed to facilitating trade & safe travels while keeping Singapore’s borders safe & secure.