Customs got tough on duty evaders over the festive period, confiscating some $6,144.35 worth of undeclared goods.

Collector of Customs Winifred Fostine-DeSilva said there were 23 cases of duty evasion in the month of December which resulted in an additional revenue of $20,671.51 in fines.

She said these only included cases that had been dealt with and there were still several pending.

In an earlier report, other statistics revealed by Customs show there were 287 cases of revenue fraud in the 2003-04 financial year which resulted in nearly $250,000 in fines.

There were also 724 cases of forced payments at the airport where people had to cough up for items under $250, netting another $34,000 for Government.