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Clifford Lo

Smuggled goods worth $25 million, including three left-hand-drive cars, 45 dismantled vehicles, and medical equipment, have been seized from a river-trade vessel on its way to the mainland, a senior customs officer said yesterday.

Electronic goods including 37 plasma televisions, 600 notebook computers  and 120 CD and DVD players were also discovered when officers from the customs department's ports and maritime command  raided the mainland-registered  vessel off Tung Lung Chau  on Thursday.

Customs Assistant Superintendent Steven Siu Kwok-yu, head of the marine strike and search division, said it was their biggest seizure of smuggled goods this year.

He said two  computerised tomography scanners used to create cross-sectional images of the body, and worth about $1 million each, were found - the first seizure of such medical scanners.

The haul also included 20 second-hand generators and seven industrial machines used to make integrated circuit boards. There were 500,000 obscene VCDs and DVDs, and $200,000 worth of vehicle accessories. The three left-hand-drive cars were two Mercedes-Benz and an Audi.

The consignment had been declared as calcium carbonate destined for Fuzhou in Fujian province, according to Mr Siu.

He said that as the mainland economy boomed, there was high demand for  luxury cars and hi-tech equipment.

The vessel, which had been  under surveillance since  arriving from Fuzhou, was intercepted in Hong Kong waters.

It was escorted to the River Trade Vessel Terminal in Tuen Mun for inspection and, with the help of X-ray equipment, officers discovered the smuggled goods in six containers.

The owner of a local transport  company and an employee were arrested the same day. The two men were later released on bail of $50,000 each pending further investigation.

Sixteen mainland crewmen on board were released after questioning and the vessel later left Hong Kong for Fuzhou.

Meanwhile, Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee Siu-kwong  yesterday revealed that 35kg of ketamine had been seized in the first quarter of the year - almost a 12-fold increase on the same period last year.

Mr Lee said the number of seized Ecstasy tablets rose 38.6 per cent to 60,987, from 44,018 in  the same period last year. Seizures of the drug Ice rose 44.4 per cent from 9kg to 13kg.

'The police have stepped up their efforts in combating the use of drugs, especially among young people. And there were a number of large-scale operations  in the first quarter leading to more seizures, especially of ketamine,' he said.

Speaking after a Fight Crime Committee meeting, Mr Lee also expressed concern over the rise in the number of robberies involving stun guns, homicides and rapes.

There were 26 rapes reported in the first quarter, compared with 15 for the same period last year. The number of murders rose to 16 from 13, and the number of robberies with stun guns rose to three from one for the same period.

Overall, the  number of crimes fell 9.1 per cent in the first three months compared with the same period last year.



Electrical goods, cars worth $25m seized from smugglers