The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said in a statement on Facebook that the ICA, Police Coast Guard (PCG), and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) intercepted an Indonesian registered tugboat named “Maju Daya 87” on 25 November.
The boat was within Singapore’s territorial waters and suspected of smuggling prohibited items into Singapore.
A check was then conducted on the tugboat and officers found a total of 1,534 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes that were hidden under a hatch that was blocked by a green cabinet.
The case was then referred to the Singapore Customs for follow-up investigations.
The ICA then highlighted that their top priority remains to safeguard Singapore’s borders and that similar concealment methods might be used by terrorists to smuggle security items into the country.
They reiterated that they will continue working with the relevant government agencies to detect and deter smuggling attempts.
Images source: ICA Facebook