9,188 bottles of duty-unpaid liquor seized and four Chinese nationals arrested in operation

9,188 bottles of duty-unpaid liquor were seized in an operation in a unit of an industrial building in Woodlands Close on Thursday (18 April).Singapore Customs stated that four men were also arrested for their involvement in duty-unpaid liquor activities.The officers of Singapore Customs suspected that a consignment of goods in the unit contained duty-unpaid liquor. Therefore, they moved into the unit for a check.Four men, all Chinese nationals, who were unpacking more than 630 boxes containing bottles of duty-unpaid liquor, were arrested.Investigations revealed that the duty-unpaid liquor was smuggled into Singapore from China.According to the authority, the boxes were labelled as soy sauce, in an attempt to conceal the duty-unpaid liquor.Court proceedings against one of the men are ongoing, while investigations are ongoing for the other three men.The authority said that the total duty and Goods and Services Tax (GST) evaded amounted to about $186,480 and $17,830 respectively.

“Singapore Customs will continue to clamp down on the smuggling and distribution of duty-unpaid liquor. We will spare no effort in going after sellers as well as buyers of duty-unpaid liquor,” said Assistant Director-General (Intelligence & Investigation) Yeo Sew Meng.The authority stressed that buying, selling, conveying, delivering, storing, keeping, having in possession 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 are also liable to be forfeited.It also encourages members of the public with information on smuggling activities or evasion of Customs duty or GST to call the Singapore Customs hotline on 1800-2330000, email [email protected] or use Customs@SG mobile app (which can be downloaded from the Apple Store or Google Play) to report these illegal activities.