Singapore's Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said in a Facebook post on Wednesday, July 25 that last Friday they arrested one man from Woodlands Checkpoint, as the officers found 92 fighting fish hidden inside his car. In another post, the ICA also told about another smuggling case of two live magpie-robins on July 23, Monday.
The first post stated that when the officials searched the vehicle they found that not only all those fishes were packed in individual plastic packets, those were hidden inside the boot, the centre console and in a bag, which was kept on the floor mat of the front passenger's seat. They immediately arrested the 58-year-old male driver, who was driving a Singapore registered car but had no valid permit to import those fishes, which is now under the case of Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA).
ICA said that they have referred this case to AVA for further investigation. In the post, they added that both the authority Ava and ICA, "would like to remind travellers against the illegal import of live animals, bird and insects into Singapore. Smuggled animals are of unknown health status and may introduce exotic diseases to Singapore."
In a different occasion, ICA officers detected a suspicious 25-year-old man, carrying a bag. The officer noticed that the man became very nervous and he asked him to go through further checks upon his arrival at the Singapore Cruise Centre in Harbourfront from Tanjung Balai. Soon the officer came to know that the man was carrying two live magpie-robins inside the bag, without having the permit.
This case also will be taken care by AVA, who is currently looking after those two birds. In addition, ICA clearly on that post, "Under the Animals and Birds Act, the importation of any animals or live birds into Singapore without a licence is illegal and carries a maximum penalty of a $10,000 fine, imprisonment for up to a year, or both."
