Singapore, 22 May 2025 – In a significant enforcement operation, Singapore Customs apprehended three individuals and confiscated a lorry along with 8,642 cartons and one packet of duty-unpaid cigarettes. These actions were taken during operations conducted on 9 and 10 May 2025 at Bukit Batok Crescent and Tampines Industrial Crescent, as part of ongoing initiatives to combat tax evasion.
On 9 May, Customs officers observed suspicious activity at an industrial site in Bukit Batok Crescent, where a man was seen pushing a trolley filled with brown boxes towards a parked lorry.
Two accomplices were also noted transferring additional boxes into the vehicle.
As officers approached to conduct inspections, the individual with the trolley attempted to escape in a van but was later apprehended in a carpark located at Lorong 25A Geylang. The operation resulted in the seizure of 4,320 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes, along with a shipment of stretch film, which were discovered in the lorry, the lift lobby of the industrial building, and within one of the building’s units.
All three suspects were arrested. The fleeing individual is identified as a 39-year-old Chinese national, while the other two are a 25-year-old Singapore Permanent Resident and a 33-year-old Chinese national.
A follow-up search at the residence of the 33-year-old yielded an additional two cartons and one packet of duty-unpaid cigarettes.
Investigations indicated that the 39-year-old was allegedly hired by an unidentified person to transport boxes of duty-unpaid cigarettes from a warehouse in Tampines Industrial Crescent to Bukit Batok Crescent. The 25-year-old was believed to have been contracted to drive the lorry and assist the 33-year-old in delivering the cigarettes to customers.
On 10 May, a subsequent operation at a warehouse in Tampines Industrial Crescent uncovered another 4,320 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes concealed within six pallets, along with another shipment of stretch film.
In total, Singapore Customs seized 8,642 cartons and one packet of duty-unpaid cigarettes, as well as the lorry utilized in these operations. The total amount of duty and Goods and Services Tax (GST) evaded is estimated at approximately $936,093. Legal proceedings against the three individuals are currently underway.
Singapore Customs emphasizes that engaging in the buying, selling, transporting, storing, or dealing with duty-unpaid goods constitutes a serious violation of the Customs Act and the GST Act. Offenders may face fines up to 40 times the evaded duty and GST, and/or imprisonment for up to six years. Additionally, vehicles involved in such offenses are subject to confiscation.