According to the Singapore Customs, 3 men between the ages of 44 and 54 were arrested after they were found with contraband cigarettes.
Bedok
Officers conducted a raid at Bedok North Street 5. Officers were called in when they noticed cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes being transferred from a Singapore-registered vehicle to a Singapore-registered truck. A total of 1,700 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes were discovered in the two trucks, a 44-year-old Chinese national was arrested.
Woodlands
On the same evening, police discovered 2,996 cartons and 40 packs of duty-unpaid cigarettes in another Singapore-registered vehicle along Woodlands Avenue 6. A 47-year-old Singaporean man and a 54-year-old Malaysian were detained as the van’s driver and passenger, respectively.
Yishun
A further 64 cartons and 37 packs of duty-unpaid cigarettes were discovered during a search of the Singaporean man’s home on Yishun Street 22.
Three cars and cash amounting to SGD$12,750 were seized, as well as 4,760 cartons and 77 packages of duty-unpaid cigarettes, as a consequence of the two raids. The avoided duty and GST (Goods and Services Tax) were roughly $407,160 and $32,660, respectively.
Investigations are ongoing.
Offenders can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty and GST evaded and/or jailed for up to six years.
Vehicles used in the commission of such offences and proceeds of sales of duty-unpaid cigarettes are also liable to be forfeited.
Source: Singapore Customs