SINGAPORE - A prime mover trying to smuggle 4,050 boxes of contraband cigarettes and 150 bundles of unmanufactured tobacco weighing 1kg each was stopped at the Tuas Checkpoint on Saturday, Sept 5.

The total duty and Goods and Services Tax due on the contraband items amounted to $419,000, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority said on Monday.

The prime mover was driven by a 42 year old Malaysian man, and the contraband items had been declared as a consignment of "electrolytic capacitors".

The driver was arrested, and the vehicle and the contraband items were seized by Singapore Customs for further investigation.

The vehicle is liable to be confiscated.

Those who breach the Customs Act and Goods and Services Tax Act can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty evaded and be jailed for up to six years.