On 4 August 2018, Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers at the Jurong Port Main Gate directed a Singapore-registered lorry for further checks. Officers had noticed anomalies in the scanned images of a consignment declared as machinery parts and notice boards.

2        During the course of checks, ICA officers found a total of 1,300 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes concealed inside the hollowed-out stack of notice board frames. The duty-unpaid cigarettes were seized and the case was handed over to Singapore Customs for further investigation.

3        In a follow-up operation on 6 August 2018, Singapore Customs officers raided a unit in a self-storage facility in Defu Lane 10 and uncovered another 550 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes. A 49-year-old Singaporean man was arrested in the operation and investigation is ongoing.

4        A total of 1,850 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes were seized in the two related cases. The total duty and Goods and Services Tax (GST) evaded amounted to about $183,250 and $13,320 respectively.

5        Our borders are our first line of defence in safeguarding Singapore's security. The security checks are critical to our nation’s security. The ICA will continue to conduct security checks on passengers, cargos and vehicles at the checkpoints to prevent attempts to smuggle undesirable persons, drugs, weapons, explosives and other contrabands. The same methods of concealment used by contraband smugglers may be used by terrorists to smuggle arms and explosives to carry out attacks in Singapore.

6        Buying, selling, conveying, delivering, storing, keeping, having in possession 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. Vehicles used in the commission of such offences are also liable to be forfeited.

IMMIGRATION & CHECKPOINTS AUTHORITY
SINGAPORE CUSTOMS
8 AUGUST 2018

Duty-unpaid cigarettes uncovered from the Singapore-registered lorry. [Photo: ICA]

The lorry used in the conveyance of the duty-unpaid cigarettes. [Photo: ICA]

                             
Duty-unpaid cigarettes were found inside the hollowed-out stack of notice board frames. [Photos: ICA]


On 6 August 2018, Singapore Customs officers raided a unit in a self-storage facility in Defu Lane 10. [Photos: Singapore Customs]

Another 550 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes were uncovered from the self-storage facility unit and a 49-year-old Singaporean man was arrested. [Photos: Singapore Customs]