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SINGAPORE: The director of a freight forwarding company was arrested along with three other people after authorities found thousands of boxes of cigarettes without paying tax, Singapore Customs said on Wednesday (November 25).
The goods and services tax (GST) evaded on cigarettes amounted to almost S $ 163,000.
During an operation around Changi on November 20 and a follow-up operation the next day, customs agents seized 1,200 boxes and 11 packages of cigarettes without paying tax, the agency said in a press release.
The men are between 44 and 56 years old.
While conducting checks on two Singapore-registered cars parked along Hendon Road and Netheravon Road, officers found 1,200 boxes of unpaid cigarettes on the passenger seats and in the trunk.
Two cars and a total of 1,200 boxes and 11 packs of cigarettes were seized without paying tax. (Photo: Singapore Customs)
The two drivers, who are brothers, were arrested.
A third man was also arrested along Netheravon Road and 11 packs of unpaid cigarettes were seized during a follow-up search of his residence.
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CIGARETTES DECLARED AS STATIONERY
Investigations revealed that one of the drivers, a director of a freight forwarder based at the Changi Air Cargo Center (CAC), imported the cigarettes on November 20 and falsely declared them as stationery.
He collected the boxes containing the cigarettes from the air terminal and stored them at his company’s facilities within the CAC. He and his older brother loaded them into their respective cars and smuggled them out of the CAC at night.
READ: From Smoking Devices to Drugs: How ICA is Addressing the Increase in Air Cargo Smuggling
Further investigation revealed that a fourth man was also involved in the delivery of the cigarettes found in the two cars. He was arrested on November 21.
The tax and GST evaded on the 1,200 cartons and 11 packs of cigarettes amounted to approximately S $ 151,290 and S $ 11,530 respectively.
READ: Thousands of electronic vaporizers seized in 2 smuggling attempts
The brothers and the fourth man have been charged in court and the court accepted requests for their return for further investigations. Investigations are underway for the other man as well.
Singapore Customs said that buying, selling, transporting, delivering, storing, holding, possessing or dealing with goods without paying tax are “serious crimes”.
Violators can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty and bypass the GST, imprisoned for up to six years, or both.
Vehicles used in such crimes can also be lost.
