SINGAPORE, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Two men were arrested and 2,117 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes were seized in Singapore recently, Singapore Customs said in a press release Tuesday.
Singapore Customs made the arrest and seizure during an operation at a multi-storey car park in north-west Choa Chu Kang on March 16.
While the cigarettes wrapped in black trash bags were being transferred from a Singapore-registered van to a Singapore-registered car parked beside it, officers moved in to conduct checks and found 2,117 cartons and 126 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes.
The duty and Goods and Services tax (GST) evaded amounted to about 250,000 Singapore dollars (185,000 U.S. dollars) and 17,600 Singapore dollars (13,000 U.S. dollars) respectively.
Two Singaporean men, aged 33 and 38, were arrested, and investigations are ongoing.
In Singapore, buying, selling, conveying, delivering, storing, keeping, having in possession or dealing with duty-unpaid goods are serious offenses. Offenders can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty and GST evaded and jailed for up to six years. Enditem
