Central Narcotics Bureau and Singapore Customs arrest five in a joint operation

          On 30 May 2020, acting on information received by the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB), CNB and Singapore Customs arrested two Singaporean men, aged 36 and 47, and three female foreign nationals, aged 33, 35 and 38, for suspected involvement in duty-unpaid cigarettes and drug activities in a joint operation in the vicinity of Jalan Sayang.

2.        CNB and Singapore Customs officers entered a residential unit at Jalan Sayang and sighted brown bags in the rear compartment of a Singapore-registered van parked in the premises. Upon further checks, officers uncovered 900 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes in the brown bags. Officers searched the premises and uncovered another 147 cartons and eight packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes in one of the bedrooms.

3.        Investigations revealed that the 47-year-old Singaporean male who was residing in the residential unit had purchased the duty-unpaid cigarettes from an unknown man to be resold. The 36-year-old Singaporean male was the driver of the van and had delivered the duty-unpaid cigarettes to the premises. In a follow-up search at the driver’s place of residence, officers uncovered another 65 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes.

4.        The operation led to a seizure of 1,112 cartons and eight packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes. The total duty and Goods and Services Tax (GST) amounted to about $95,030 and $7,690 respectively. About 19g of ‘Ice’, 3g of vegetable matter suspected to contain new psychoactive substances, a small amount of ketamine, 36 ‘Ecstasy’ tablets and various drug paraphernalia were also found within the unit.The van and cash amounting to SGD$52,510 were also seized.

5.        Investigations are ongoing.

6.        Buying, selling, conveying, delivering, storing, keeping, possessing or dealing with duty-unpaid goods are serious offences under the Customs Act and the GST Act. Offenders can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty and GST evaded and/or jailed for up to six years. Vehicles used in the commission of such offences and proceeds of sales of duty-unpaid cigarettes are also liable to be forfeited.

7.        The trafficking, manufacture, import, export, possession or consumption of controlled drugs constitute an offence under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

8.        Members of public with information on smuggling activities or evasion of Customs duty or GST can call the Singapore Customs hotline on 1800-2330000, email customs_intelligence@customs.gov.sg or use Customs@SG mobile app (which can be downloaded from the Apple Store or Google Play) to report these illegal activities. Those with information on drug activities are advised to call the 24-hour CNB hotline at 1800-3256666 to make a report.

9.         CNB and Singapore Customs will continue to clamp down on illegal activities and those found engaging in such activities will be dealt with in accordance with the law.

Duty-unpaid cigarettes found in van [Photo: Singapore Customs]

Duty-unpaid cigarettes uncovered in residential unit at Jalan Sayang [Photo: Singapore Customs]

More than 1,112 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes seized [Photo: Singapore Customs]

CENTRAL NARCOTICS BUREAU
SINGAPORE CUSTOMS

3 Jun 2020