Chinese national arrested for trying to smuggle 2,300 cartons of cigarettes without paying duty tax

A 33-year-old Chinese national has been arrested by the Singapore Customs after he attempted to smuggle 2,300 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes into Singapore.

The goods were seized during an operation at the back lane between Tuas South Street 1 and Tuas South Street 3 on Friday (29 Jan). Customs officers spotted the man walking towards a Singapore-registered van parked at the back lane.

Suspecting that the van contained duty-unpaid cigarettes, officers swooped in as the man unlocked the door of the van and found brown carton boxes labelled as “dried noodles” containing duty-unpaid cigarettes within the vehicle. The man was arrested on the spot and officers seized the goods and the van.

According to the Singapore Customs, the man was engaged by an unknown man to deliver duty-unpaid cigarettes to buyers using the van. The authority added that the duty and Goods and Services Tax the man tried to evade amounted to about $196,420 and $15,900 respectively.

Court proceedings against the man are ongoing. He could be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty and GST evaded and/or jailed for up to six years if he is convicted of violating the Customs Act and the GST Act, which prohibit buying, selling, conveying, delivering, storing, keeping, having in possession or dealing with duty-unpaid goods.

Members of the public with information on smuggling activities or evasion of customs duty or GST can call the Singapore Customs hotline on 1800-2330000 or email the authority to make a report.