Man caught with van containing 2,900 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes in Yishun carpark

Singapore Customs arrested a 31-year-old male Singaporean and seized 2,900 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes at Yishun Avenue 5 on Dec 20.

Officers saw the man opening the door of a van suspected of containing the contraband.

They conducted checks and uncovered the cigarettes, which were packed inside brown boxes kept within the van’s cargo compartment.

The total duty and Goods and Services Tax (GST) evaded amounted to about $342,134.

Investigations revealed that the man was allegedly engaged by an unknown person to collect and deliver boxes containing the cigarettes.

Court proceedings are ongoing.

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, and/or jailed for up to six years.