3 men arrested for allegedly evading over $936k in cigarette duties and taxes
Two of the men arrested and the duty-unpaid cigarettes seized. PHOTO: SINGAPORE CUSTOMS
3 men arrested for allegedly evading over $936k in cigarette duties and taxes
SINGAPORE - Three men were arrested for allegedly evading over $936,000 in cigarette duties and taxes following enforcement operations earlier in May.
In a media statement on May 22, Singapore Customs said that officers seized a lorry and a total of 8,642 cartons and one packet of duty-unpaid cigarettes on May 9 and 10 in Bukit Batok Crescent and Tampines Industrial Crescent.
The total duty and goods and services tax (GST) evaded amounted to about $936,093, it said.
On May 9, Customs officers observed a man - a 3 9-year-old Chinese national - p ushing a trolley loaded with brown boxes towards a parked lorry at an industrial building in Bukit Batok Crescen t.
Two other men - a 25-year-old Singapore permanent resident and a 33-year-old Chinese national - were also seen transferring additional boxes into the lorry.
When officers moved in to conduct checks, the 39-year-old man fled in a van but was later nabbed at a carpark in Lorong 25A Geylang .
A total of 4,320 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes, along with a consignment of stretch film, were found in the lorry, at the lift lobby of the industrial building, and in one of the units in the building.
A search of the 33-year- old man's residence uncovered an additional two cartons and one packet of duty-unpaid cigarettes.
Investigations revealed that th e 39-year-old m an was allegedly engaged by an unknown individual to deliver boxes of duty-unpaid cigarettes from a warehouse in Ta mpines Industrial Crescen t to Bukit Batok Crescent.
The 2 5-year-old man was believed to have been separately hired to drive the lorry and assist the 33-year-old man in delivering the duty-unpaid cigarettes to customers.
Singapore Customs conducted a follow-up operation o n May 10 at a warehouse in Tampines Industrial Crescent, where officers discovered another 4,320 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes concealed within six pallets, along with another consignment of stretch film.
A lorry and 8,642 cartons and one packet of duty-unpaid cigarettes were seized during enforcement operations on May 9 and 10.
PHOTO: SINGAPORE CUSTOMS
All three men were arrested and court proceedings are ongoing.
In its statement, Singapore Customs reminded the public that buying, selling, conveying, delivering, storing, keeping, possessing, or dealing with duty-unpaid goods are serious offences under the Customs Act and the GST Act.
Offenders can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty and GST evaded, jailed for up to six years or both . Vehicles used in such offences may also be forfeited.
Members of the public with information on smuggling activities or evasion of duty or GST can report it at https://go.gov.sg/reportcustomsoffence.
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