A smuggler must have been real smug thinking he could get away with hiding cartons of contraband cigarettes in his car’s engine compartment before crossing the borders into Singapore.
That is, until his whole car went up in flames.
The Singapore-registered vehicle reportedly caught fire while undergoing checks at the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex at the Sultan Iskandar Building on Tuesday night.
Johor Baru Selatan district police chief Assistant Commissioner Sulaiman Salleh told The New Straits Times that the driver of the white Honda Stream was unhurt in the incident.
“The fire, which started from the engine, was put out in three minutes. The entire car and its engine were damaged. Initial investigations revealed no criminal elements,” he was quoted as saying.
After the fire was put out, authorities reportedly found 15 cartons of cigarettes in the car’s engine compartment, believed to be an attempt to smuggle contraband cigarettes into the republic.
“The car did not manage to go through Customs checks yet,” Sulaiman told the daily.
Technically though, he did not commit any offence. The man was not arrested because the crime had yet to be committed — the contraband items did not cross the border.
The case, however, has been handed over to the police.
With text by Coconuts KL
