$1.1m worth of duty-unpaid cigarettes found in container declared as bulbs

Officers from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and Singapore Customs have foiled an attempt to smuggle some 9,000 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes in an inbound-container on April 21.

In a news release on Monday (May 11), the law enforcement agencies said the 20-foot container was targeted for enhanced checks at Pasir Panjang Scanning Station based on a risk assessment conducted by ICA's Integrated Targeting Centre and Customs' data analytics.

The container, with its consignment of goods declared as "Smart LED bulb", was instead found with 9,000 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes during further checks.

According to Customs, the estimated value of the duty-unpaid cigarettes seized is about $1,168,675.

The agencies warned would-be perpetrators that they leverage on technology and data analytics as part of their targeting and detection capabilities.

Buying, selling, conveying, possessing or dealing with duty-unpaid goods are serious offences under the Customs Act and the Goods and Services Tax Act. 

Offenders can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty evaded, jailed for up to six years, or both. 

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