Man caught smuggling 3 puppies under layers of blankets in his car, 1 puppy died

Poor puppy.

Sulaiman Daud | February 22, 2019, 08:36 PM

This is why Singapore has strict rules governing the transport of animals in and out of the country.

On Friday, Feb. 22, the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said in a Facebook post that a 58-year-old man was stopped at Woodlands Checkpoint for smuggling live animals, duck eggs, and a replica bullet keychain.

Puppies and duck eggs

ICA officers discovered three puppies hidden in a basket and under layers of blankets, as well as 20 duck eggs in the man's Singapore-registered car on Feb. 17.

Photo courtesy of ICA.

The man did not have an import permit or valid health certificates to bring the eggs and the puppies into Singapore.

ICA referred the case to the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) for further investigations.

Photo courtesy of ICA.

Unfortunately, one of the puppies didn't survive, but it was not stated when or how it died.

ICA said the other two have since been placed under the care and quarantine of AVA, while the duck eggs were destroyed. Said ICA:

"Smuggled animals are of unknown health status and may introduce exotic diseases, such as rabies, to Singapore. Similarly, illegally imported food products are from unknown sources.

Apart from food safety concerns, we have to remain vigilant to prevent diseases such as bird flu from being introduced into Singapore through such food products."

Bullet keychain

ICA officers also found a keychain shaped like a bullet in the man's possession.

Photo courtesy of ICA.

Under the Regulations of Imports and Exports Regulations, toy or replica ammunition comes under Controlled Imports, Exports and Transhipments.

This means that transporting such items in and out of Singapore without a permit is an offence.

ICA therefore referred the case to the Singapore Police Force for further investigation.

You can see their Facebook post in full below:

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Top image adapted from ICA's Facebook page.