Singapore Customs hosts first APEC 2009 meeting on customs procedures Let’s stamp out illegal cigarettes together! Formula One: How the cars came in   Singapore hosts chemical incidents training for Asian counterparts Traders give Singapore Customs’ service delivery the thumbs up Singapore Customs gains ground against cigarette offenders in 2008 Selective sealing of containers results in time-savings for traders   Singapore Customs marks International Customs Day 2009 Look smart! Look sharp!         Singapore Customs gains ground against cigarette offenders in 2008 Singapore Customs continues its fight against contraband cigarette offenders. For the first time since 2005, the number of cigarette offenders has declined after three years of consecutive year-on-year increase, as revealed in its annual enforcement results for 2008. Singapore Customs seized the largest haul of 233,500 packets of illegal cigarettes in June 2008. The agency’s effective targeting efforts also thwarted many attempts to bring in contraband cigarettes and uncovered many new concealment tactics used for the first time by desperate syndicates. 20,306 cigarette offenders were caught in 2008. This is a fall of 13% compared to 2007. The decline in cigarette offenders caught was attributed to the deterrent effects of stringent checks at the checkpoints, stepped-up enforcement inland and increased public awareness of the severity of cigarette-related offences. 1,382 persons were arrested and charged in court for dealing with illegal cigarettes. This is a five per cent increase from 2007. The increase was attributed to stepped-up enforcement and collaboration with agencies such as the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority and the Singapore Police Force to interdict illegal cigarette shipments and disrupt the supply and subsequent distribution of illegal cigarettes in Singapore. Singapore Customs strongly advises the public not to buy illegal cigarettes. For possessing a packet of illegal cigarettes, an offender faces a minimum fine of $500 or prosecution in court. Dealing with illegal cigarettes is a serious offence, and offenders will be brought to court and face heavy fines and imprisonment for fraudulent evasion of duty and GST. Singapore Customs’ repeated interdictions of contraband cigarettes have disrupted supplies to peddlers, making it harder for them to operate. The number of peddlers caught fell from 857 in 2007 to 684 in 2008. Tougher enforcement presence has also made it more difficult for peddlers to sell contraband cigarettes. The agency’s suppression team continued its enforcement checks for buyers and smokers of illegal cigarettes. In 2008, 6,356 offenders were caught for buying and smoking illegal cigarettes, a six percent increase over the previous year. In total, 4.6 million packets of cigarettes, involving $35.5 million in duty and Goods & Services Tax (GST) evaded were seized by Singapore Customs, five percent more than the quantity seized in 2007. Commenting on the annual enforcement results, Director-General of Customs Mr Fong Yong Kian said, “Singapore Customs would like to urge the public not to give in to the temptation of buying illegal cigarettes. There will be no let-up in our enforcement to stamp out contraband cigarettes and cigarette offenders will have to face the consequence of the law.” Effective targeting disrupts illegal cigarette supplies Contraband cigarettes hidden within hollow, decorative Roman pillars. Vigilant risk assessment of inbound cargo continues to pay dividends for Singapore Customs. In 2008, the agency successfully intercepted many illegal cigarette consignments before the supplies could be distributed inland. Singapore Customs tracks and monitors import declarations of goods to prevent criminals from circumventing duty and GST payments. The following two cases are examples of effective targeting by the Singapore Customs. On 9 December 2008, a consignment declared as furniture was targeted for checks after background investigations aroused suspicion. Follow-up investigations revealed that the consignments were contraband cigarettes. Three Singaporeans and one Bangladeshi were arrested and 144,110 packets of contraband cigarettes were seized from an industrial park in Ang Mo Kio. The duty and GST evaded amounted to more than $1.1 million. The four men were each charged in court and sentenced to 56 months in prison. In another case on 21 November 2008, a consignment of goods declared as air filters was targeted by Singapore Customs after background investigations. The goods arrived by rail. When Singapore Customs seized the suspected consignment at a factory in Woodlands, officers found 24,500 packets of cigarettes instead of air filters. The total amount of duty and GST evaded was $190,000. Three Singaporeans and three Vietnamese were arrested and jailed 37 months each. Bamboo poles were used as a cover load to conceal cartons of contraband cigarettes. Singapore Customs also uncovered many new concealment tactics used by smugglers of contraband cigarettes in 2008. Its officers found cigarettes hidden inside the arms of construction excavators, sub-woofer systems and decorative Roman pillars, among others. There were also cases of bamboo poles and tanks of live prawns used as cover loads for contraband cigarettes. Notwithstanding the ingenuity of these concealment methods, Singapore Customs was able to uncover them.   Copyright © 2009 Singapore Customs. All Rights Reserved.