Customs officers seize 379 cartons of illegal cigarettes
More than 379 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes were seized by Singapore Customs during an operation in Yishun.
A Singaporean man, 54, was arrested.
In a press release yesterday, Customs officers said they had observed the man pushing a trolley loaded with boxes wrapped in black trash bags into a Housing Board flat in Yishun Street 51 last Wednesday.
The unit was raided and 379 cartons and one packet of duty-unpaid cigarettes along with $620 worth of cash, suspected to be sales proceeds from such cigarettes, were seized.
Investigations revealed the man had bought the duty- unpaid cigarettes from another man and intended to resell them for a profit.
The seller was charged in court last Friday.
Court proceedings are ongoing.
He had evaded a total of $51,800 in duty fees and $3,910 in goods and services tax (GST).
Buying, selling, delivering, storing, and dealing with duty-unpaid goods are serious offences under the Customs Act and the GST Act.
Offenders can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty and GST evaded, or jailed for up to six years, or both.
Vehicles used in the commission of such offences can also be forfeited. - HIDAYAH ISKANDAR
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