SINGAPORE: About 750 kilogram of chewing tobacco and a total of 6,470 cartons of non-duty paid cigarettes were seized by the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers at the Woodlands Checkpoint in two separate incidents last week.
In the first incident last Friday, a 47-year-old Malaysian man drove his Malaysia-registered lorry to the checkpoint. Checks by ICA officers found 3,448 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes and 74,940 sachets of chewing tobacco, weighing approximately 750 kilogram, concealed among a consignment declared as wardrobe sets.
The chewing tobacco was handed over to the Health Sciences Authority for investigation. The import and sale of chewing tobacco is prohibited in Singapore.
The following day, on Saturday (April 22), another Malaysia-registered lorry driven by a 48-year-old man was caught with 3,022 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes hidden among a consignment declared as wheat grain and food grade bran.
Both men, the contraband cigarettes and vehicles involved in both cases were handed over to the Singapore Customs and investigations against the men are currently ongoing.
The vehicles used in the commission of such offences are liable to be forfeited.
The total duty and Goods and Services Tax evaded for the cigarettes in both cases amounted to about S$502,070 and S$37,210 respectively.
