Chinese national arrested after leading authorities to 7,306 hidden cartons of illegal cigarettes in Jurong
A 40-year-old Chinese national was arrested after leading Singapore Customs officers to 7,306 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes in Jurong on Feb 7.
Acting on intelligence and ground surveillance, they had observed the man exiting an industrial building at Buroh Street, said Singapore Customs in a Feb 23 news release.
Upon questioning, he led officers to a unit within the industrial building, where the contraband was discovered concealed inside three air coolers.
The man was arrested and all the cigarettes were seized.
Follow-up investigations led to Singapore Customs uncovering an additional 7,244 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes hidden within three air-cooler units in another industrial building at Tuas Bay Close on Feb 11.
Singapore Customs said investigations revealed that an unknown person had allegedly engaged the Chinese national to retrieve the cigarettes from the air coolers and pack them for local distribution.
A total of 14,550 cigarette cartons were seized with the goods and services tax (GST) evaded amounting to about $1,578,512.
Court proceedings against the arrested man are ongoing.
Under the Customs Act and the GST Act, buying, selling, conveying, delivering, storing, keeping, possessing or dealing in duty-unpaid goods are serious offences, where those convicted can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty and GST evaded, jailed for up to six years or both.
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