Updated: 10/17/2013 14:07 | By Channel NewsAsia
1.9 million packets of contraband cigarettes seized this year so far
SINGAPORE: Singapore Customs said it has seized 1.9 million packets of contraband cigarettes in the first nine months of this year.
This is an increase of 84 per cent over the 1.03 million packets seized in the same period last year.
In a statement, Singapore Customs attributed the bigger haul to its stepped-up enforcement and collaboration with other law enforcement agencies against smugglers, peddlers and buyers.
In a recent case, enforcement officers seized 13,300 cartons or 133,000 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes.
On September 25, they intercepted a van at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10 and seized 2,500 cartons of contraband cigarettes.
The driver, a 57-year-old Singaporean man, was arrested.
The officers also searched for a truck that the man had rented, suspecting that it was used to transport more contraband.
They located the truck in a car park at Bangkit Road on October 4 and found another 10,800 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes.
The authorities said they seized both the van and the lorry, and are investigating the case.
The haul of 13,300 cartons is estimated to have a street value of over S$1.2 million and the tax payable exceeds S$1 million.
Singapore Customs warned that buying, selling, conveying, delivering, storing, keeping, possessing and dealing in duty-unpaid cigarettes are serious offences.
The minimum court fine is S$2,000 for first-time offenders, and S$4,000 for repeat offenders.
Repeat offenders caught with more than two kilogrammes of tobacco products face mandatory imprisonment.
Vehicles used in such offences can also be seized.
- CNA/fa
