TWO Chinese nationals who helped to repack more than 4,000 cartons of contraband cigarettes into boxes were each jailed for 34 months on Tuesday.

Yao Jiajie, 34 and Wang Jun Jien, 37, admitted to dealing in 5,439 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes weighing 1,088kg with Liao Zhijia, and Xu Xiujing at a warehouse in Tuas Avenue 11 on Dec 6 last year.

The duty payable on the cigarettes was $382,906, and the Goods and Services Tax, $34,266. Liao, 32, and Xu, 34, were each jailed 34 months last month.

A district court heard that Customs officers saw a truck leaving the warehouse at about 10.45pm and trailed the vehicle.

Another party moved into the warehouse and saw the four Chinese nationals with several cardboard boxes, some of which were packed with cartons of dutiable Texas 5 cigarettes.

They arrested a man who admitted that he had helped the driver load 1,075 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes from the warehouse into the cargo compartment of the vehicle.

Officers seized 4,364 cartons of duty unpaid cigarettes and 100 dining tables from the warehouse.

The dining tables were used to hide the contraband cigarettes.

Meanwhile, another party trailing the truck found 1,075 cartons in the cargo compartment.

Investigations showed that Yao enlisted the help of Wang to help him receive the concealed cigarettes, remove and repack them in the warehouse after he was promised $200 for the job by a fellow countryman.