Car with cigarettes hidden in engine catches fire

Incident happens at Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex in Johor Baru.

PETALING JAYA: A Singapore-registered car with cartons of cigarettes in its engine compartment caught fire at the exit lane of the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex in Johor Baru last night.

The driver, a 24-year-old Singapore man, was unhurt, the New Straits Times reported.

Johor Bahru Selatan District Police Chief ACP Sulaiman Salleh said the fire started from the engine and was put out in three minutes.

But the entire car and its engine were damaged.

He said officers found 15 cartons of cigarettes in the car’s engine compartment.

Police believe it could have been an attempt to smuggle contraband cigarettes into the republic, the newspaper said.

The car had not gone through Customs checks yet at the time, Sulaiman said.

According to the report, the driver was not arrested as an offence had yet to be committed as the items had not crossed the border.