SINGAPORE, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- Singapore Customs said Monday it had seized the largest inland haul of contraband cigarettes so far this year, with total duty and Goods and Services Tax (GST) involved amounting to over 1.87 million Singapore dollars (about 1.44 million U.S. dollars).

In two operations conducted on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, officers confiscated 17,279 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes along with a van, the agency said. One Singaporean man and three Indian nationals were arrested.

Court proceedings are ongoing for all four individuals.

Under the Customs Act and the GST Act, buying, selling, conveying, delivering, storing, keeping, possessing or dealing in duty-unpaid goods are serious offenses. Offenders face fines of up to 40 times the amount of duty and GST evaded, imprisonment of up to six years, or both. Enditem