Ex-foreman bribed guard in cigarette smuggling scheme
A former foreman and several workers at a shipping company operated in a criminal syndicate to smuggle contraband cigarettes from overseas, which they sold surreptitiously at the Penjuru Terminal in Jurong over at least two years.
They unloaded duty-unpaid cigarettes from vessels docked at the terminal, and bribed a security officer at the terminal to allow the cigarettes to pass through without scrutiny.
The former foreman, Theku Raja Suresh, 41, was sentenced to eight weeks’ jail after he pleaded guilty on Dec 19 to two counts of abetting corruption. Two similar charges were taken into consideration for his sentencing.
The court heard that the Indian national worked at Eng Hup Shipping. He was initially a mooring crew member and was promoted to foreman in 2015.
He was part of a contraband cigarette syndicate that consisted of at least eight members, including his colleagues Rathnakumar Deepan and Vadivalu Dharman.
Ahmad Khamis, 64, who was a senior security officer at Pico Guards from 2020 to 2021, was deployed at the terminal to control personnel movement and ensure that contraband material was not brought into Singapore.
Outlining the smuggling process, Deputy Public Prosecutor Andrew Chia said members of the syndicate would receive news that the cigarettes would be onboard a particular vessel berthing at the terminal.
Theku would then ensure that the mooring crew deployed to that vessel would consist of members of the syndicate.
The syndicate members would offload the cigarettes – typically contained in black trash bags – and transport them to the mooring crew changing room area.
They would then load the cigarettes onto a buggy car and drive it to the terminal’s rubbish chute area. To reach there, the car would have to go past the main guardhouse where Ahmad was.
DPP Chia said the syndicate members would inform Ahmad when the contraband cigarettes would be arriving at the terminal, and the security officer would make arrangements to be on duty then.
When he saw the buggy car arriving, Ahmad would automatically lift the security barrier to allow it to pass through.
The syndicate members would sell the cigarettes to buyers at the rubbish chute area, where there was no CCTV. They subsequently split the profits.
Each time Ahmad helped the syndicate, he would be paid between $50 and $200 on the same or following day.
From 2020 to 2021, Theku helped Rathnakumar and Vadivalu to pass between $50 and $150 to Ahmad at the guardhouse on each of six occasions.
Theku was arrested on Feb 3, 2023, by officers from the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).
For his role in the scheme, Theku received at least $2,350 out of the profits made by the syndicate. CPIB said Ahmad obtained at least $4,750 in bribes.
Theku pleaded for a lighter sentence in his mitigation, citing his unemployment for the past two years due to ongoing investigations.
Court documents did not disclose the outcome of the cases involving Vadivalu and Rathnakumar.
Ahmad is facing 13 graft charges and two other charges under the Customs Act linked to the contraband cigarettes. He is expected to plead guilty on Jan 3, 2025.
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