Singapore Customs arrests Chinese national, seizes 1,188 bottles of untaxed alcohol worth over S$70,000

SINGAPORE: Singapore Customs recently seized more than 1,000 bottles of untaxed alcohol in an enforcement operation last month, with the total amount of evaded customs and excise tax involved accumulating to more than S$70,000.

According to the authorities, a 40-year-old Chinese man was arrested, and officers conducted the operation in the Kaki Nukit Crescent area. During the enforcement, they discovered a man unloading brown cardboard boxes from a Singapore-registered lorry, loading them onto a trolley, and transporting them to a storage room in a self-storage facility. 

With this, officers discovered 396 bottles of untaxed alcohol in the lorry, and another 792 bottles inside the storage room. These were all confiscated on the spot, and the man was arrested. 

It is under the Customs Act and the Goods and Services Tax Act that it is a serious offence to purchase, sell, transport, deliver, store, keep, possess, or dispose of any untaxed alcoholic beverages in the country. Offenders can be fined up to 20 times the total amount of evaded customs and services tax, and can also face imprisonment for up to two years. Additionally, vehicles used to commit such crimes can also be confiscated. 

Further investigations stated that the man received the job of storing and transporting these evaded beverages through a social media platform. The man involved was charged in court last month, and the case is currently on trial. 

Other related news 

In similar news related to enforcement operations by authorities, there was a recent report where the Land Transport Authority (LTA) conducted a nine-day joint operation with the Singapore Police Force. They aim to target active mobility (AM) offences at identified hotspots. 

During the operation, more than 200 offences were detected, and over 100 AM devices were seized. Common offences that were identified were keeping non-compliant Power Assisted Bicycles (PABs), using improper, obscured, or tampered number plates, and keeping non-UL2272 Personal Mobility Devices (PMDs). 

Read more about the news story here.