2 men jailed for dealing with over 2,300 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes

A total of 2,390 cartons and 100 packets of cigarettes were found in the two men's vans. PHOTO: SINGAPORE CUSTOMS

SINGAPORE - Two men were jailed on Thursday (Oct 6) for dealing with duty-unpaid cigarettes, Singapore Customs announced in a press release on Sunday.

Singaporeans Kamaruddin Abdul Latiff, 48, and Azman Mohd Yunos, 50, received 21-month and 16-month sentences respectively.

Both were nabbed in an operation conducted by Singapore Customs officers at Loyang Way on Tuesday (Oct 4), when they were spotted driving two Singapore-registered vans.

They were subsequently seen unloading boxes from a separate van into their own vans.

Upon inspection, Kamdaruddin's van was found to contain 1,494 cartons and 60 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes, while Azman's had 896 cartons and 40 packets.

A total of 2,390 cartons and 100 packets of cigarettes were found in the two men's vans. PHOTO: SINGAPORE CUSTOMS

All three vans and the cigarettes were seized. The total duty and Goods and Services Tax (GST) involved amounted to more than $262,600, said Singapore Customs.

It added that investigations are ongoing to identify other suspects in the smuggling operation.

The minimum court fine for first-time and repeat offenders of tobacco-related offences is $2,000 and $4,000 respectively. Repeat offenders caught with more than 2kg of tobacco products face mandatory jail sentences.

Members of the public with information on smuggling activities or evasion of customs duty or GST can report them by calling the Singapore Customs hotline on 1800-2330000, emailing customs_intelligence@customs.gov.sg or using the Customs@SG mobile app.

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