There is no end to the creativity of a smuggler looking to avoid import duties for bringing cigarettes into Singapore.

On Wednesday, March 13, the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said they seized 6,000 cartons of cigarettes which were sealed in 10 clear decorated boxes labelled as "game machines".

Which looked like this:

Unusual scans

ICA said that on March 11, their officers detected "anomalies" in a consignment that held the game machines when they were passed them through scanners at the Pasir Panjang Scanning Station.

The officers conducted further checks on the 40-foot (12.2m) container, which was sitting in a warehouse in Tuas Avenue 3.

They found that the game machines were locked, which heightened their suspicions.

Prying one open, they found its interior was hollow, and that it contained cigarettes wrapped up in black bundles.

Lots of money at stake

Just in case you were wondering, the duties Singapore levies on the import of cigarettes happen to be this:

In all, the total duty on the cigarettes would have amounted to S$512,400, while the GST added on would have been S$37,780.

ICA didn't say if anyone was arrested for smuggling, but they did highlight that terrorists could use the same methods to smuggle in illegal weapons, so constant vigilance will be maintained.

Here are some other ways non-duty-paid cigarettes have been smuggled in (and caught, so don't try them):

Top image courtesy of ICA.