2 men arrested for attempting to evade clearance at Tuas Checkpoint in Malaysia-registered car; drugs found
Both suspects are Malaysian, said the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority.
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SINGAPORE: Two men have been arrested in connection with an attempt to evade clearance at Tuas Checkpoint last weekend while travelling in a Malaysia-registered car, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said on Wednesday (Feb 25).
ICA officers detected a car heading towards Tuas Checkpoint’s arrival motorcycle zone at about 2.44pm on Feb 22 before it made an unauthorised U-turn at the entrance and drove back to Malaysia against the flow of traffic.
In a video of the incident circulating on social media, a black car at the entrance of Tuas Checkpoint can be seen reversing and making a sharp turn to exit via a slip road, as an unidentified man tries to pull open its doors. The man then gets into a white SUV and drives after the black car.
"As the vehicle turned back towards Malaysia before it could be intercepted, ICA promptly alerted the Malaysian authorities at the Kompleks Sultan Abu Bakar (KSAB) to keep a lookout," ICA said.
An ICA officer spotted the car re-entering Tuas Checkpoint at around 3pm, prompting an immediate lockdown of the checkpoint.
“The vehicle dashed through one of the lanes and damaged a drop-arm barrier at the arrival cargo zone before being brought to a stop,” ICA said, adding that no injuries were reported.
The driver, 40, and his 53-year-old passenger - both Malaysians - were arrested.
A total of about 97g of heroin, 69g of Ice, three Erimin-5 tablets, 27 tablets believed to contain controlled drugs as well various drug paraphernalia were found on the driver and in a pouch under the front passenger seat, following a search.
The driver also did not have a valid travel document, according to ICA.
Both suspects were handed over to the Central Narcotics Bureau and investigations into the drug-related offences are ongoing.
The driver is also being investigated by ICA for various immigration offences, and by the Traffic Police for rash driving and other traffic-related offences.
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