SINGAPORE: A total of 25,500 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes have been seized in two related operations, representing the largest such haul since April 2015, said the Singapore Customs on Wednesday (Jan 25).
The total duty and Goods and Services Tax (GST) amounted to about S$2,305,500 and S$219,330, respectively, it said in a press release.
The first seizure took place last Tuesday at a logistics company in Jurong Port Road. Customs officers confiscated 4,900 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes hidden in brown boxes.
Two Singaporeans – a 59-year-old man and 54-year-old woman – and a 37-year-old Malaysian man were arrested, authorities said.
4,900 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes were seized from the premises of a logistics company along Jurong Port Road. (Photo: Singapore Customs)
Further investigations into this case led to another operation on Jan 23, during which 20,600 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes were seized. They were discovered in two containers parked in a vehicle yard in Pioneer Sector 3, Singapore Customs said.
The agency reiterated that “buying, selling, conveying, delivering, storing, keeping, having in possession or dealing with duty-unpaid goods are serious offences under the Customs Act and the GST Act.” Offenders can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty and GST evaded and/or jailed for up to six years.
