PUBLISHED ONMay 15, 2026 4:27 AMBYSean LerA 30-year-old male foreign traveller was caught attempting to move $65,000 cash into Singapore without declaration on May 10.
He was among some 47 travellers caught for various offences — including failing to declare large amounts of cash and evading taxes on cigarettes, goods and liquor — in a week-long, multi-agency enforcement operation conducted across Singapore's land, air and sea checkpoints.
In a joint statement on Friday (May 15), the police, Immigration and Checkpoints Authority and Singapore Customs said more than 12,000 travellers and 420 vehicles were checked during the operation, which took place between May 6 and 12.
These were part of efforts to enforce against non-compliance of Singapore's cross-border cash reporting regime (CBCRR) and other illegal cross-border activities, the agencies said.
Four travellers, aged between 30 and 65, were caught for moving cash exceeding $20,000, or its equivalent in foreign currencies, without declaration.
A 59-year-old female foreign traveller and a 65-year-old male foreign traveller were found with multiple foreign currencies of between over $20,000, in separate cases on May 7 and 8 respectively. They were issued with notices of warning.
On May 10 and 12, authorities nabbed two male foreign travellers, aged 30 and 52, also for CBCRR-related offences.
They each moved $65,000 in Singapore dollars and $38,432.72 in multiple foreign currencies — in separate cases. Both were issued with composition fines totalling $10,000.
It is a crime not to report cash or currency of more than $20,000 when crossing Singapore's borders. If found guilty, offenders can be fined up to $50,000, jailed for up to three years, or both. The cash can also be confiscated.
Separately, forty-three travellers were caught for failing to declare and pay taxes on cigarettes or tobacco products, liquor exceeding duty-free concession, or goods exceeding the Goods and Service Tax (GST) import relief.
The total amount of duty and GST evaded was $5,354 and composition fines of $9,740 were imposed.
Among the cases, a traveller was caught under-declaring the value of 120 padel rackets in his possession.
Under the Customs Act, individuals may face a fine of up to 20 times the amount evaded, or imprisonment of up to two years, or both, if they are found involved in the fraudulent evasion of customs and exercise duties.
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