Singapore Customs officers mounted an operation at an industrial building in the vicinity of Corporation Drive, where they kept watch on a unit which the two men had entered into earlier.
As one of the men was exiting the unit, officers moved in to conduct a check. They uncovered 3,744 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes wrapped in black trash bags, and 288 empty green baskets that were allegedly used as cover loads for the duty-unpaid cigarettes.
Both men were arrested. All the duty-unpaid cigarettes found were seized in the operation. The total duty and Goods and Services Tax (GST) evaded amounted to about $319,730 and $25,440 respectively.
Investigations are ongoing.
Buying, selling, conveying, delivering, storing, keeping, possessing 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.
Members of public with information on smuggling activities or evasion of duty or GST can call the Singapore Customs hotline on 1800-2330000 or email [email protected] to report these illegal activities.
