'Empty' truck yields 1.13m illegal cigarettes

Customs officers busted an illegal tobacco syndicate on Saturday, seizing about 1.13 million cigarettes from an "empty" container truck after it crossed the border. The tobacco had been hidden in a fake compartment.

Four men, aged 31 to 55, were arrested - three Hongkongers and one from South Asia.

The Customs and Excise Department said it was the first time officers had discovered tobacco being smuggled this way.

Walter Mak Hoi-wan, head of customs' revenue and general investigation bureau, said customs officers followed the truck from the border to a cargo unloading area in Man Kam To at about 2pm on Saturday.

"The truck was supposedly empty … but our officers watched several men walking into the false compartment to move the boxes of cigarettes. It was then that the officers made their move and arrested them," Mak said.

He said there was a false wall at the end of the container, which was actually a door leading to the a compartment measuring 320 sq ft. It concealed 88 boxes of illegal cigarettes with an estimated value of about HK$3 million. The duties would have been worth about HK$2 million.