14,550 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes hidden in air coolers seized in raids
The total duty and Goods and Services Tax evaded in the haul amounted to more than S$1.57 million.
Duty-unpaid cigarettes found by Singapore Customs at an industrial unit on Tuas Bay Close on Feb 11, 2026. (Photo: Singapore Customs)
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SINGAPORE: Singapore Customs seized 14,550 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes that were concealed inside air cooler units during two enforcement operations earlier this month.
The total duty and Goods and Services Tax (GST) evaded in the haul amounted to more than S$1.57 million (US$1.25 million), Customs said in a media release on Monday (Feb 23).
A 40-year-old man was arrested in the course of the raids.
On Feb 7, Customs officers observed the man, a Chinese national, exiting an industrial building on Buroh Street.
Upon questioning, the man led the officers to a unit within the building, where 7,306 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes were found concealed inside three air cooler units.
The man was then arrested, and all the duty-unpaid cigarettes were seized, said Customs.
Follow-up investigations led to a second operation on Feb 11 at another industrial building on Tuas Bay Close, where officers discovered 7,244 more cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes similarly hidden in three air cooler units.
In total, the haul involved about S$1,578,512 in evaded duty and GST.
"Our investigations revealed that an unknown person had allegedly engaged the arrested man to retrieve the (duty-unpaid cigarettes) from the air coolers and pack them for local distribution," said Customs.
Court proceedings against the man are ongoing.
Under the Customs Act and the GST Act, buying, selling, conveying, delivering, storing, keeping, possessing and dealing in duty-unpaid goods are serious offences.
Offenders can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty and GST evaded, jailed for up to six years, or both.
