>A LARGE volume of cigarettes was hidden inside decorative plaster Roman pillars - the latest
attempt in smuggling contraband cigarettes.
A total of 54,000 cigarettes worth $415,000 were uncovered in a stakeout at a warehouse unit
in Tagore Lane. Two Singaporean men were arrested.
According to a press statement, Singapore Customs officers saw the men pushing a pallet of
brown boxes out from a store at the warehouse unit on 13 Aug. The officers stopped the men
and discovered 10,000 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes in the boxes.
Inside the store, officers hacked open a number of plaster Roman pillars and cement-like
balls to reveal another 44,000 packets of cigarettes concealed inside.
The men were charged in court on 15 Aug. They pleaded guilty to the charges and were
sentenced to three years' imprisonment.
