THE increasing sophistication of cross-border smuggling rackets has sparked hefty new incentives to entice people close to any illicit trade into tipping-off the Customs Department.
Rewards for informants announced yesterday mark the first such increases for 10 years, with one package rising more than threefold.
A Customs spokesman said reviews, prompted by the rise in cigarette smuggling, revealed the need to use more cash to get people to provide information, with existing rewards proving simply ''unattractive''.
''This is Hongkong, after all,'' the spokesman said.
''People are only going to move if you make it worth their while.'' Informants will be paid $30 for every 1,000 cigarettes seized once the smuggler has been successfully prosecuted, compared to $6.60 previously.
Customs officers seized more than 43 million cigarettes last year - 24 million up on the 1991 figure.