S’pore Customs seizes over 3,200 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes, arrests boy, 16, and 3 men

SINGAPORE – More than 3,200 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes were seized by Singapore Customs officers during a sting at an industrial unit near Loyang Drive on Tuesday (Dec 28).

A 16-year-old boy and three men were arrested during the operation, Singapore Customs said in a statement on Friday (Dec 31).

Two of them were charged in court on Dec 30, while investigations for the other two are under way.

During the operation, Customs officers checked on a male suspect who was approaching a van after he left the industrial unit.

At the same time, officers moved in to inspect the unit and found another man retrieving duty-unpaid cigarettes hidden in bed frames and packing them into canvas bags.

The two suspects were arrested and two vehicles – a lorry and a van – were seized. Another two men were later arrested for their alleged involvement in dealing with contraband.

The 3,232 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes found during the sting amounted to about $298,000 in levies evaded.

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/spore-customs-seizes-over-3200-cartons-of-duty-unpaid-cigarettes-arrests-boy-16-and-3-men