SINGAPORE: Officers from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) have foiled an attempt to smuggle 2,200 units of e-vaporisers and related components into Singapore via Tuas Checkpoint on 5 August.
The Malaysian-registered lorry was directed for enhanced checks, during which ICA officers discovered the vape products hidden in the vehicle’s cabin and toolbox compartment.
The case has been referred to the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) for further investigation, ICA said in a Facebook post on 8 August.
This is the latest in a series of vape smuggling attempts at Singapore’s land checkpoints in recent weeks.
On 29 July, 2,400 units of e-vaporisers and components were seized from a Malaysia-registered lorry at Tuas Checkpoint.
The lorry was carrying cargo declared as precast products.
Less than a week earlier, on 24 July, more than 5,900 units were found hidden in a car at Woodlands Checkpoint.
Officers also discovered 150 cartons of heatsticks (heat-not-burn tobacco) concealed in various compartments of the vehicle.
According to ICA, there were 308 cases involving vapes detected at Singapore’s air, land and sea checkpoints in 2024.
Smugglers have concealed e-vaporisers in dashboard compartments, undercarriages, wheel wells and even inside air filter boxes.
Some vehicles were specially modified to hide larger quantities of the banned products, which have been prohibited in Singapore since 2018.
An ICA spokesperson told Mothership that the agency adopts a multi-pronged approach to detecting and preventing smuggling.
All cargo vehicles and buses entering Singapore are scanned via a radiographic scanning portal, producing top and side views of the vehicles.
These images are then examined by ICA’s image analysts to detect anomalies.
“Vehicles with anomalies in their scanned images will then be directed for enhanced checks,” the spokesperson said.
Safeguarding Singapore’s borders remains a top priority for ICA, the spokesperson added.
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