Clever as this man’s attempt to smuggle in contraband products across the borders, Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers managed to uncover his carb-fuelled trick of hiding duty-unpaid cigarettes in a hollowed-out loaf of bread. Not that wholesome a meal, we can tell you that.
On Monday, a 28-year-old Malaysian motorcyclist was slapped with an S$800 fine for the customs offense of failure to declare and pay duty and GST on the four packs of cigarettes he tried to smuggle in at Woodlands Checkpoint. Probably in a bid to allay suspicions, the loaf of contra-bread was even openly placed in the front basket of his motorcycle.
It’s neither the first nor the last time ICA officers have and will bust motorists who’ve thought of imaginative ways to illegally import things into the country. In February, some folks tried to smuggle large amounts of bak kwa concealed in pastry packaging, while others tried to bring in nearly 70,000 cans of beer by declaring them as a shipment of fruit punch.
The fact that two of the cigarette packs he had were of the John brand made it irresistible for netizens to make puns. You know, like Roti John.
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