8 Indonesian peddlers nabbed at Woodlands Road
By Andre Yeo | Posted: 05 July 2011 1710 hrs
Make shift tent with mattresses and disposed items.(Photo by Singapore Customs)
Resting area for peddlers. (Photo by Singapore Customs)
SINGAPORE: Eight Indonesians were arrested in a joint operation conducted by Singapore Customs (SC), the Gurkha Contingent, the Police and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority on June 28.
A total of 338 packets of illegal cigarettes were seized.
The total duty and Goods and Services Tax (GST) involved exceeded S$2,000 and the estimated street value of the cigarettes is more than S$3,000 in this operation.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, SC said Yew Tee has been an area of concern for contraband activities with buyers continuing to support peddling activities there.
These cigarettes were being sold to approaching passers-by near Yew Tee Industrial Estate along Woodlands Road by suspected immigration offenders at S$5 per packet.
This is less than half the price of legal, duty-paid cigarettes sold in retail outlets.
Enforcement officers raided the area at about 10pm and caught the peddlers by surprise.
While some of the cigarettes were hidden in the forested area nearby, others were thrown on the ground by the peddlers trying to escape.
The seven men and a woman arrested, during the one and a half hour operation, were aged between 21 and 39 years old.
The woman, who is a maid working in Jurong, was also wanted for a police offence committed previously.
Five of the men were immigration offenders and two were overstayers.
From January to June 2011, SC has conducted five major operations, arresting 25 peddlers and 35 buyers.
During the raids, their make-shift homes were also destroyed to prevent them from returning to the forested area.
SC warns that buying, selling, storing and dealing with duty-unpaid goods are serious offences under the Customs Act and the GST Act.
Repeat offenders can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty and GST evaded and/or jailed for up to six years.
- CNA/ck
