Man offers $500 for candidates to smuggle contraband cigarettes from JB to S'pore

A man blatantly posted advertisements on Facebook, offering $500 to anyone willing to smuggle contraband cigarettes from Johor Bahru to Singapore. 

A netizen, Nasir, told Shin Min Daily News that he was browsing Facebook when he spotted a posting. 

The person who uploaded the posting was looking for a delivery driver, and Nasir decided to drop him a message.

According to the requirements stated in the post. the applicant should be a Singaporean or a Permanent Citizen (PR), possess a Class 3/3A driving licence. 

It also stated that daily remuneration would be $300.

Nasir emphasised:

“The post did not state what kind of goods we were delivering.

“I was curious so I started asking.

“I did not realise till then that it involved the smuggling of contraband cigarettes.”

After Nasir sent his personal details, the person replied, saying that the job involves smuggling contraband cigarettes into Singapore, and Nasir would be paid $500 for each trip. 

Furthermore, the ‘company’ would provide Nasir with a modified car.

Nasir said:

“I knew at that moment that it was illegal, and I decided not to reply to him.

“I immediately reported the incident to the police’s Facebook page.”

He added that it was not the first time he had come across this sort of ‘dubious’ posts and he had seen those on other online marketing platforms as well. 

He did not expect them to go on Facebook to recruit people. 

If convicted, the person who posted the advertisements, as well as the smugglers face a jail term of up to six years. 

Contraband cigarette smugglers could also be fined up to 40 times the amount taxable on the smuggled goods.