Tobacco and cigarettes have long been considered a problem for people who want to put a stop towards pollution and of course health risks as far as smoking is concerned but many of you are bound to get a kick out of this. Ever heard of an eco-friendly cigarette?

Apparently officers from the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and Singapore Customs (SC) seized 2,016 cartons of “eco-friendly tobacco”. Now that would be a first for them and though they had doubts on the claims, after proper scanning, the claims were found to be consistent.

On Nov 24 at about 7.45pm, an inbound Malaysian-registered truck declared to be conveying disposable food containers and wrapping films pulled into Tuas Checkpoint and was directed for radiographic scanning.

The officers found the scanned image to be inconsistent with the declared consignment.

While this may seem to be a new discovery, the legality of it all was the one put into question. Smuggling is a grave offense and it carries certain penalties.

Upon conviction by the court, first-time offenders of cigarette smuggling can be fined up to a maximum of 20 times the amount of duty evaded. For second or subsequent convictions, offenders can be jailed for up to two years, as well as being fined. The offenders also face further fines based on the amount of GST evaded.

The vehicles used in the commission of such offence are also liable to be forfeited.

Singapore Customs warns that buying, selling, conveying, delivering, storing, keeping, having in possession or dealing with contraband cigarettes are serious offences under the Customs and GST Acts.

The public are strongly advised not to buy duty-unpaid cigarettes. For possessing a packet of duty-unpaid cigarettes, an offender may face a minimum fine of $500 or prosecution in court

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(Source) AsiaOne News