A total of 25,500 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes were seized in two related operations by Singapore Customs on Jan 17 and Jan 23.

This is the largest seizure of contraband cigarettes since April 2015, Singapore Customs said in a press statement yesterday.

The first operation was conducted at a logistics company in Jurong Port Road, and yielded 4,900 cartons hidden in brown boxes on the premises. A Singaporean man and woman, aged 59 and 54 respectively, as well as a 37-year-old Malaysian man, were arrested.

Investigations into the case led to another operation on Monday, which saw officers seize 20,600 cartons stored in two containers parked in a vehicle yard in Pioneer Sector 3.

The total duty and goods and services tax involved in both operations amounted to over $2.5 million. Investigations are ongoing.