SINGAPORE (ANN/THE STRAITS TIMES) – Three men were arrested on March 1 for evading almost SGD390,000 in cigarette duties and taxes following a Singapore Customs operation.
In a statement on March 6, the authorities said they had seized 3,600 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes, after carrying out enforcement actions at Upper Serangoon Road and Segar Road.
They also seized two vans and SGD19,000 in suspected proceeds from the sales of these cigarettes.
The total duty and Goods and Services Tax (GST) evaded amounted to about SGD389,944.
Singapore Customs officers on March 1 conducted an operation at a carpark along Upper Serangoon Road, where they observed two men approaching two vans.
The officers inspected the vehicles, discovering 1,800 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes in each of them.
The two men, both Malaysian nationals aged 36 and 45, were arrested there.
In a subsequent operation at Segar Road, a 37-year-old Singaporean man was arrested at his residence.
Officers found SGD19,000 in cash – suspected to be proceeds from the sale of duty-unpaid cigarettes – stored in a safe.
Preliminary investigations indicated that the two Malaysians reportedly found the job of transporting duty-unpaid cigarettes via social media, and they supposedly received instructions from the Singaporean.
Investigations are ongoing.
Offenders face a fine of up to 40 times the amount of duty and GST evaded, or a jail term of up to six years, or both.
Vehicles involved in committing such offences can also be confiscated.
