Three Malaysians nabbed for smuggling in Singapore

JOHOR BARU: At least three Malaysians were picked up for trying to smuggle drugs, tobacco and cigarettes via the Causeway into Singapore.

Aged 20, 29 and 40, they were detained separately at the Woodlands checkpoint in the past few days.

The latest case happened on Wednesday when Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers detained the 20-year-old who had 0.9kg of cannabis on him.

The ICA in a statement said the officers suspected something amiss when they noticed a bulge around the man's waist.

It turned out to be cannabis wrapped in newspaper and plastic. The drugs, which have a street value of S$29,000 (RM81,000), can feed the addiction of about 128 users for a week. The suspect was handed over to the Central Narcotics Bureau for investigations.

Under Singapore's Misuse of Drugs Act, those convicted of importing more than 0.5kg of cannabis face the death penalty.

In the other cases, a 40-year-old bus driver was arrested after ICA officers discovered 6,330 sachets of tobacco concealed in six covered plastic pails in the luggage compartment of the bus several days ago.

The ICA said the bus was sent for further checks upon its arrival at the checkpoint that evening.

In the third case, the 29-year-old was arrested for trying to smuggle 1,827 cartons of cigarettes, declared as bottled drinking water, after their discovery during a routine inspection. The ICA officers found the cigarettes in sealed packages in between the bottled drinking water and in the tool box compartment of the lorry.