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SCMP Reporter

SMUGGLED goods seized by Hongkong security forces are being bought back by the smugglers at public auctions.

  Officers involved in anti-smuggling operations are angry at the present situation and have warned that it has seriously damaged morale.

  Under the present arrangement, once the courts approve a forfeiture, the smuggled goods are sold to the public at auctions or through tenders. However, there is no restriction on who can buy the goods.

  Auctions are held every two weeks with about 100 pieces of confiscated goods available, mostly electrical appliances. For larger batches, arrangements are made for tendering. About $43 million was generated through such sales last year.

  Sources in the anti-smuggling forces said many of the buyers were actually smugglers or people employed on their behalf and it was almost certain the goods ended up on boats to China again.

  Although it was difficult to estimate the exact volume of smuggled goods being bought back by the illegal traders, sources said there was no doubt they were the major buyers.

  ''The smuggling trade is so lucrative that smugglers will try every means to obtain goods that are cheap, and these auctions provide them with that opportunity,'' one source said.

  ''We are not surprised to see people who have been arrested by us in the first place attend the auctions and eventually buy back their goods.

  ''This may be something unavoidable, but staff morale is badly affected because our efforts to eradicate the illegal activities have been undermined to a certain extent.''   A spokesman for the Government Supplies Department, which organises the auctions and tenders, said they had not received any information that goods were being sold back to smugglers.

  He said applicants had to register their identity card numbers and addresses before they were allowed to bid for the goods.

  ''We do not believe the smugglers dare take part in the auctions or tenders when they have to put down their personal information,'' he said.

  Meanwhile, the Customs and Excise Department has proposed shortening the time between the seizure of smuggled goods and their sale by auctions so as to provide more space for storage.

  At the moment it takes up to 10 months before smuggled goods can be auctioned because present legislation stipulates that forfeiture cannot start until all court proceedings have been completed.

  But due to the success in seizing smuggled goods, the 10 government godowns and six other private ones rented to store confiscated goods cannot cope with the demand for space.

  The department has therefore proposed amending legislation so that court proceedings and forfeitures can be carried out at the same time, and smuggled goods can be auctioned soon after the court cases have been concluded.

  Customs officers are optimistic that the amendment will help to reduce the time period by four to six months, helping to create more space to store confiscated goods.



Buy-back scam for smuggled products