SINGAPORE: Four men have been arrested after they were caught dealing with more than 4,500 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes, said the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) on Tuesday (Jan 30).
The men, three of whom were Indian nationals and the other a Malaysian, were arrested on Sunday during a follow-up operation by Singapore Customs, said ICA in a news release.
At about 3.45am on Sunday, ICA officers directed a bowser truck, driven by the Malaysian suspect, for inspection at the Woodlands Checkpoint.
An ICA officer noticed anomalies in the scanned image of the Malaysian-registered truck and subsequently alerted Singapore Customs.
During a follow-up search by customs officials, two Singapore-registered trucks were spotted next to the bowser truck at Tuas View Cresecent.
Three men, all Indian nationals, were seen transferring cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes from the bowser truck to another truck. (Photo: Singapore Customs)
Three men were then seen alighting from one of the trucks and transferring goods from the bowser to the other truck, according to the release.
Customs officers found a total of 4,567 cartons and 80 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes inside.
The three men, all Indian nationals, were arrested while the Malaysian driver was later arrested at the Tuas Checkpoint.
The cigarettes, along with the bowser truck and the other two trucks were seized.
A total of 4,567 cartons and 80 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes were seized in the operation. (Photo: Singapore Customs)
The amount of total duty and Goods and Services Tax (GST) evaded was about S$355,020 and S$26,310 respectively.
Investigations are still ongoing.
