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SINGAPORE: From smoking devices hidden in toy block boxes to drugs hidden in packages declared as clothing, more contraband is being detected in air cargo amid the COVID-19 pandemic, said the Immigration and Control Points Authority ( ICA).
A total of 19 million air cargo shipments were dispatched at the Changi Air Freight Center and the Airport Logistics Park between January and September, an increase of about 60 percent over the same period last year.
At the same time, the number of smuggling cases also increased from 700 to 3,200.
When it comes to such shipments, low-value e-commerce products are of particular interest to ICA, said Deputy Deputy Commissioner Cheong Kai Kiong, who is in charge of operations at the Changi Air Cargo Center and Park. Airport logistics.
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Most of these low-value products come from China, but they can also come from other countries like the UK, Malaysia, and the US.
“The COVID-19 situation and the circuit breaker has led to a paradigm shift in the shopping habits of our residents. Many go online to make purchases, and these purchases are subsequently imported to Singapore, ”said DAC Cheong, who also manages the parcel post section of ICA.
With the increase in shipments, an upturn has also been detected in several contraband items. Many are hidden among discreet household items like snacks, light bulbs and jars, he said.
Some people may get a “false sense of security” by ordering these contraband items online rather than smuggling them through checkpoints, DAC Cheong noted.
A vehicle passes the radiographic exploration portal. (Photo: Matthew Mohan)
HOW CHECKS WORK
All incoming air cargo shipments and priority mail go through the Changi Air Freight Center or the Airport Logistics Park.
Upon arrival in Singapore, the planes deliver their cargo to authorized ground handling agents. These agents make arrangements with freight forwarders, who will transport the cargo through the Changi Air Freight Center or the Airport Logistics Park, both located minutes from the runway. At these two locations, vehicles carrying cargo must first pass through an unmanned radiographic scanning portal.
“The scanning portal is two in one: it has X-rays and also radiation scanning,” explained DAC Cheong. “So when a vehicle goes through the portal, it will have a scanned image of the cargo on board and also a radiation scan … if there is something that emits radiation beyond certain thresholds, the alarm will be raised.”
Checks on the portal usually take no more than a minute.
Checkpoint 1 (CI1) inspector Radin Helmie Osman looks through X-ray images in a secondary inspection bay. (Photo: Matthew Mohan)
The vehicles then pass to the primary clearance booths, which are meters from the scanning portal. This is where ICA officers process the documents and refer the vehicles for a secondary inspection if necessary.
In the primary clearance booths, officers also analyze the X-ray images taken on the scanning portal to ensure that the items inside the vehicles match the description stated in the accompanying documents.
Since no permits are required to import low-value e-commerce goods, officers will forward them to secondary inspection bays where the cargo is opened for physical inspection and, if necessary, X-rays of individual shipments.
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This is where Checkpoint Inspector 1 (CI1) Radin Helmie Osman and his team come into action. Earlier this month, CI1 Radin and his team stopped the smuggling of 4,000 heating rods into the country. The heat bars, heated battery-operated tobacco products, were hidden in boxes of toy blocks.
“There has been a trend where they hide them in toys, which they declare as toys,” CI1 Radin said. “When we did a scan (on the portal), it was quite close to the real element due to the uniformity of the object … (But) the density is a little darker, because it is denser than the blocks.”
The truck containing these boxes was sent to further checks after the CI1 Radin team noticed abnormalities in the scanned images. Upon further inspection of the packages, the heat bars were detected.
“I think these smugglers are improvising their methods. it’s a new modus operandi, so we’re still learning, ”CI1 Radin said.
An ICA officer helps load the cargo into a scanner in a secondary inspection bay. (Photo: Matthew Mohan)
Since then, the case has been referred to the Health Sciences Authority for investigation.
Cases like these represent “very conscious attempts” to smuggle into Singapore through various checkpoints, DAC Cheong noted.
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“They think they can trick our eyes into making it look very innocent and bring it up. They want it to be harder for the ICA to detect.
“Despite the increase in cargo volume, our officers are taking this positively and have remained steadfast in the mission,” said DAC Cheong.
