Two days, two motorcycles: ICA foils back-to-back smuggling attempts at Woodlands

SINGAPORE: ICA officers at Woodlands Checkpoint have foiled two separate attempts to smuggle duty-unpaid cigarettes, vaporisers, and related components into Singapore via motorcycles on consecutive days, with the second case involving a Singapore-registered bike and a Singaporean rider.

In the first case on August 3, 2026, Search and Examination officers directed a Malaysia-registered motorcycle for enhanced checks and uncovered more than 30 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes and more than 60 vaporisers and related components hidden in the motor storage box. The 46-year-old Malaysian male rider was arrested.

The following day on August 4, 2026, a Singapore-registered motorcycle was directed for enhanced checks, with officers uncovering 25 cartons and 30 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes as well as more than 60 vaporisers hidden under the seat and in the motor storage box. The 51-year-old Singaporean male rider was arrested.

Both suspects and their respective exhibits have been referred to Singapore Customs and the Health Sciences Authority for further investigation.

Netizens react

The back-to-back cases drew responses that ranged from praise for ICA to pointed observations about the scale of what likely gets through undetected.

“They keep trying. Many will slip in. Need a rule which stops, not discourages the trying,” one commenter wrote, raising the question of whether existing penalties are sufficient deterrents given the persistence of smuggling attempts.

Others pointed to the challenge of checking every motorcycle in the high-volume Woodlands traffic. “Every day so many bike riders in and out; how to check [every] individual? My ex-colleague always smuggled unpaid duty tobacco into Singapore and resold it to Singapore colleagues,” another netizen commented.

“Actually many Malaysian riders bring more than one. Hope ICA can do more checks on Malaysian bikes,” another said.

One commenter was more blunt about the audacity of the concealment: “Crazy, just bring it in like that. There are still many greedy people who haven’t died yet.” And one kept it simple: “Well done, ICA!”

Read related: Cigarettes hidden in car floorboard seized at Woodlands Checkpoint as ICA foils latest smuggling attempt