Driver gets two years' jail for smuggling duty-unpaid cigarettes
SINGAPORE: A 21-year-old Malaysian driver, Selva Rajoo Kumarwell,
was sentenced to two years' jail, after the Singapore Customs and
Immigration and Checkpoints Authority foiled his attempt to smuggle
20,970 packets of illegal cigarettes into Singapore without paying
duties and taxes.
The cigarettes seized are worth over S$200,000. Taxes on them would have been more than S$161,000.
The cigarettes were hidden under the cover-load of bricks, beneath the floorboard of a trailer.
The vehicle was stopped at the Tuas Checkpoint at about 3am on Saturday after Singapore Customs received a tip-off.
Investigations revealed that the driver was hired to smuggle cigarettes from Malaysia into Singapore.
For every successful delivery, the driver would be paid RM1,000.
In the first three months, 298 offenders were arrested and charged in court for dealing with illegal cigarettes.
Anyone convicted of smuggling duty-unpaid cigarettes faces a jail term and/or a fine of up to 20 times the duty and GST evaded.
Members of the public with information on smuggling activities or
evasion of customs duty or GST should contact the Singapore Customs
Hotline at 1800-2330000 or email to
[email protected].
- CNA/yt