3 men arrested for evading cigarette duty and taxes worth over $700k
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Customs officers found 2,997 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes within an industrial unit and 240 cartons in the rear compartment of a car.
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SINGAPORE – Three men were arrested this week in Customs operations that saw the seizure of 6,470 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes.
The duty and goods and services tax (GST) evaded amounted to $701,166, the Singapore Customs said in a statement on May 10.
The men were nabbed during Customs operations to detect and deter tax and duty evasion in Serangoon North and Gul Circle on May 6.
During an operation, Customs officers observed two men loading brown boxes into a car that had reversed into a unit in an industrial building in Serangoon North Avenue 4.
Suspecting the presence of duty-unpaid cigarettes, officers moved in to conduct checks.
They later found 2,997 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes within the industrial unit and 240 cartons in the rear compartment of the car.
Both men, a 24-year-old Singaporean and a 37-year-old Malaysian, were arrested.
Another Malaysian man, 42, who was seen loitering near the loading and unloading bay, was also arrested.
Investigations revealed that the 24-year-old man and the 37-year-old man were allegedly tasked with collecting a consignment described as floor tiles but which actually contained duty-unpaid cigarettes.
These were transported using a lorry from an industrial building in Gul Circle, after which the two men were to repack the cigarettes into cartons at the Serangoon North Avenue 4 industrial unit.
The 42-year-old man was allegedly responsible for delivering the duty-unpaid cigarettes using the car.
A subsequent operation at the industrial building in Gul Circle led to the discovery of an additional 3,233 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes.
All duty-unpaid cigarettes and both vehicles were seized.
Investigations are ongoing.
“The act of buying, selling, conveying, delivering, storing, keeping, possessing or dealing with duty-unpaid goods constitutes serious offences under the Customs Act and the GST Act,” the Singapore Customs said.
Offenders can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty and GST evaded, jailed for up to six years, or both.
Vehicles used in committing such offences are subject to forfeiture.
Anyone with information regarding smuggling activities or the evasion of duty or GST can make a report on the Customs website
Correction note: In an earlier version of the story, we said that the operation took place last week instead of this week. We are sorry for the error.
