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https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/5-arrested-more-than-6000-cartons-of-duty-unpaid-cigarettes-seized-by More than 6,000 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes were seized by Singapore Customs officers who observed activity at the loading and unloading bay of an industrial building in Woodlands Industrial Park. Four men - three Singaporeans and a Malaysian - as well as one Malaysian woman, all between 21 and 54 years old, were arrested last Thursday, Singapore Customs said in a statement on Monday (Sept 6). Customs officers had observed boxes being transferred into a Singapore-registered truck at the loading and unloading bay of the industrial building and suspected that they contained duty-unpaid cigarettes. They found 1,120 cartons of such cigarettes in the truck and arrested the Malaysian woman and three Singaporean men. Further checks uncovered another 4,928 cartons in another Singapore-registered truck in the vicinity, making it a haul of 6,048 cartons in all. Subsequently, the driver of a Malaysia-registered lorry that was suspected to be used to deliver the cigarettes was arrested at Tuas Checkpoint when he attempted to leave Singapore. The duty as well as goods and services tax (GST) evaded amounted to $516,490 and $41,430. All three vehicles were also seized. The agency said investigations are ongoing. "We would like to seek the cooperation of owners of industrial premises to be alert and look out for suspicious persons and activities to prevent their premises from being misused," said, Mr Yeo Sew Meng, assistant director-general of intelligence and investigation at Singapore Customs. The agency warned that buying, selling, conveying, delivering or storing duty-unpaid goods are serious offences under the Customs Act and GST Act. Offenders can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty and GST evaded, jailed up to six years, or both. Vehicles used in the commission of such offences are also liable to be forfeited, added the agency. Those with information on smuggling activities or evasion of customs duty or GST can call the Singapore Customs hotline on 1800-233-0000 or e-mail [email protected] ======================= Seems to be an increase in the number of people caught smuggling recently 😔. We are in the middle of a pandemic and still got people doing stupid stuff like this haiz 😤

Contraband cigarettes found hidden in car boot, driver arrested By Gamar Abdul Aziz, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 15 May 2008 0111 hrs SINGAPORE : He was well-dressed and drove a brand-new car but he was also a cigarette smuggler. The 30-year-old man, who was dressed in suit and tie, arrived at the Woodlands Checkpoint on Wednesday in his brand new Sports Utility Vehicle. Upon checking, officers from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) found cartons of cigarettes hidden in the speaker box compartment in the car boot. A total of 100 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes was found hidden in the vehicle. The man was arrested and his vehicle seized. The customs duty payable was estimated to be about S$7,040, and Goods and Services Tax at S$640. The driver claimed he would be paid S$500 if he successfully delivers the contraband cigarettes. Preliminary investigations reveal that he had collected the cigarettes from a shop in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. He was supposed to wait for further instructions upon arrival in Singapore. The case has been referred to the Singapore Customs for further investigations. If found guilty, first time offenders can be fined up to a maximum of 20 times the amount of duty evaded. Repeat offenders can be jailed for up to two years and fined. - CNA/de http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/sin.../347803/1/.html can sell backside liaoz..

Duty-unpaid cigarettes hidden in the modified spare tyre compartment of a Mercedes-Benz car. More offenders have been caught for smuggling contraband cigarettes into Singapore using luxury cars. Singapore Customs said the offenders had assumed that luxury vehicles would less likely be checked by enforcement officers at the checkpoints. Last year, 15 offenders were caught for trying to smuggle contraband cigarettes into Singapore in luxury cars, compared to 2012 when there were four offenders. A total of 2,642 cartons and four packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes valued at more than S$250,000 were recovered from modified compartments of the cars including the seats, fuel tank, spare tyre and engine compartments. The duty and Goods and Services Tax evaded exceeded S$208,000. Among those caught, 11 were sentenced to between three and 13 months' jail. Their vehicles were forfeited. Court proceedings are ongoing for the other four offenders. Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/more-use-luxury-cars-to/965218.html

Any thoughts on this? 27kg of gold is a lot. Shouldn't there be a limit here? If you have to declare how much money you have, then why not gold? http://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2015/04/nk-envoys-gold-smuggling-no-lapse-at-changi-airport-says-minister/ NK envoy’s gold smuggling – no lapse at Changi Airport, says minister April 15, 2015by andrewlow in News · 3 Comments Second Minister for Home Affairs S. Iswaran told Parliament on Tuesday that there were no security lapses in the case of a North Korean diplomat who had apparently carried some 27kg of gold bars through Changi Airport and onto a flight to Dhaka, Bangladesh. The incident took place in March this year. Mr Iswaran was replying to a question posed by non-constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP), Gerald Giam, of the Workers’ Party (WP). Mr Giam had asked what was the weight limit on the transport of gold and other precious metals in and out of Singapore by individual travellers, and if diplomats are exempt from this limit. And referring to the case of the diplomat, Mr Giam asked what measures are in place to ensure that diplomats do not abuse their diplomatic immunity to carry precious metals, drugs or weapons in and out of Singapore in their luggage. Son Young-Nam, the first secretary at the North Korean embassy in Dhaka, had departed on a flight from Changi, where he was screened before boarding. “No security threat items were found on him,” local news in Singapore reported. Mr Son was stopped when he arrived at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalam International Airport. Rashidul Islam Khan, commanding officer of the airport’s armed police battalion, said the diplomat was passing through the “nothing to declare” channel in customs when an official asked to scan his carry-on luggage. But Mr Son refused to allow customs officers and police to examine his bags. “He insisted that his bags cannot be scanned because he’s carrying a red passport and he enjoys diplomatic immunity,” Moinul Khan, head of Bangladesh’s customs intelligence department told AFP. “After more than four hours of drama, he gave in and we found gold bars and gold ornaments weighing 26.795kg (59lb), which is worth 130 million taka ($1.67m, £1.1m),” he added. Mr Khan said the diplomat admitted under questioning that he was carrying the gold illegally. The gold is reported to be worth some US$1.4 million. Bangladesh has a limit of 2kg which can be allowed into the country by individuals. Mr Khan added: “It’s a clear case of smuggling. We believe he would have sold the gold to a local criminal racket. He is being used as a carrier.” The Bangladesh government summoned North Korean Ambassador Ri Song Hyon on Monday and gave him a 72-hour deadline to send the diplomat home, the Associated Press news agency reported. “We told the ambassador to prosecute him in North Korea and update us about the action to be taken against him,” Mohammad Shahidul Haque, the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry secretary, told Reuters. “We conveyed to him that the government would take serious action if any embassy official is found to be involved in any crimes in future.” IswaranMr Iswaran said diplomats, just like other travellers, are screened before they board the planes at Singapore’s Changi Airport. “This involves the use of metal detectors for checks on persons and X-ray screening for their belongings,” the Straits Times reported Mr Iswaran as having said. In the event of a suspicion of a security threat, the authorities “are not constrained from making the appropriate checks on the items a diplomat carries.” As for Mr Giam’s question about limits to the amount of gold and precious metals allowed to be transport in and out of Singapore, Mr Iswaran said there are no weight limits on these. Straits Times“The member should also be aware that it is not uncommon, especially for travellers to certain parts of the world, to carry what you and I might consider not insignificant amounts of gold on their person or in their personal baggage,” the minister said. “If they are able to give a clear explanation that these are their personal effects or for personal consumption purposes, generally they would be allowed to carry on with their travel with those items.” In the meantime, sources have said Mr Son was released by the Bangladesh authorities under the Vienna Convention which grants immunity to diplomats. He is also reported to have left Bangladesh for North Korea.

Singapore and Malaysian police recovered six vehicles worth more than RM$480,000 (S$197,000) last Wednesday in a joint operation. Acting on information received from the Royal Malaysian Police through Interpol, officers from the Singapore Police Force (SPF) launched an operation at the Brani Terminal to intercept two containers which were en route to Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates. It was believed that a car-smuggling syndicate operating in Malaysia had been involved in the illegal trading of stolen Malaysian-registered vehicles and was using Singapore as transit for the stolen vehicles. Six Toyota Hilux cars which had been shipped in two containers from Port Klang to Singapore, where they were unloaded to be shipped again to Jebel Ali, were recovered. Preliminary investigations indicate that the syndicate had falsely declared the contents of the containers to avoid detection. The Malaysian police have also arrested several syndicate members in Malaysia in connection to this case. Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/...icles-recovered

4 years for human trafficking, what would the sentence be like if he was caught in Singapore?

News say got one local caught smuggling a FT out of Singapore in the boot of his Singapore car. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/sin...1059362/1/.html This might be why some of us encounter more customs check when departing as even locals are joining e 'trade'.