SINGAPORE CUSTOMS

SINGAPORE CUSTOMS AND JOINT NEWS RELEASE

17 July 2016

Five arrested by Singapore Customs and Police for dealing with duty-unpaid cigarettes

Four men and a woman were arrested in a two-day joint operation by Singapore Customs and the (PCG) for dealing with duty-unpaid cigarettes.

On 13 July 2016 afternoon, Singapore Customs officers intercepted a lorry in Bukit Batok Street 21. They found 15,960 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes stored in styrofoam boxes in the lorry. The 56-year-old male lorry driver was arrested and the lorry was seized.

Investigations by Singapore Customs revealed that the boxes of duty-unpaid cigarettes had been loaded onto the lorry at Creek from a boat registered to a coastal fish farm in the waters off . Upon receiving this information, PCG’s intelligence and Loyang region officers immediately worked together to identify the fish farm believed to be involved in this illegal transaction. In the early hours of the morning on 14 July 2016, PCG and Singapore Customs mounted a joint raid at the identified fish farm. Two other fish farms were also raided after further investigations by PCG investigators. This follow-up and subsequent interviews by PCG and Singapore Customs officers led to the recovery of 2,088 packets of duty- unpaid cigarettes packed in styrofoam boxes and the seizure of a boat. One man aged 51, two men aged 32, and one woman aged 50, were arrested at the fish farms.

A total of 18,048 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes were seized in the two-day joint operation mounted by the two agencies. The total duty and Goods and Services Tax (GST) involved exceeded S$140,000 and S$14,000 respectively. Investigations are ongoing.

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 will be severely dealt with. They can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty and GST evaded, and/or jailed for up to six years.

The minimum court fine for first-time and repeat offenders of tobacco-related offences is $2,000 and $4,000 respectively. Repeat offenders who are caught with more than two kilogrammes of tobacco products will also face mandatory jail sentences.

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Media contacts:

Ms Toh Shi Ting Senior Corporate Communications Officer Singapore Customs Office: 63552165 Email: [email protected]

Khairunnisa Abdul Jabbar Public Communications Officer Singapore Police Force Office: 64782172 Email: [email protected]

About Singapore Customs

Singapore Customs – a department under the Ministry of Finance – is the lead agency for trade facilitation and revenue enforcement.

We facilitate Singapore’s external trade through active engagement with businesses, robust regulations and effective enforcement.

Besides ensuring a fair, competitive and level playing field for traders, we also safeguard Government revenue. We take firm enforcement action against those who attempt to evade duties and taxes by making fraudulent declarations or bringing in contraband goods.

Our vision is to be a leading customs that advances Singapore’s economy by assuring the integrity of the trading system.

We make trade easy, fair and secure.

About Police Coast Guard

Our maritime domain remains vulnerable to threats of smuggling, crime such as sea robbery and theft of marine gas oil and the risk of terrorists using the same modus operandi as sea-based perpetrators to mount an attack on Singapore.

The mission of Police Coast Guard is to Prevent, Deter and Detect Crime in Singapore Territorial Waters.

We aspire to make Singapore Territorial Waters the safest waters in the world for the security, survival and success of Singapore.

ANNEX

The lorry used in the transportation of duty-unpaid cigarettes was seized.

Duty-unpaid cigarettes stored in styrofoam boxes were found in the lorry.

Singapore Customs and Police Coast Guard seized the 15,960 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes from the lorry.

More duty-unpaid cigarettes were found in a coastal fish farm in the waters off Pulau Ubin.

A boat (foreground) was also seized by Singapore Customs and Police Coast Guard.

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