Three arrested over HK$25 million worth of iPhones, Apple Watches, other tech products and bird’s nest found on cargo ship bound for mainland China from Hong Kong
- Authorities and source say illegal consignment to be used as Lunar New Year gifts, with smuggling effort a bid to evade heavy mainland taxes
- Haul is one of the biggest of its kind, and the first in five years involving a cargo ship for such cases, instead of speedboats
Authorities in Hong Kong have seized HK$25 million (US$3.2 million) worth of contraband items from a cargo vessel bound for mainland China and arrested three men in one of the biggest hauls of electronic goods in city history.
A law enforcement source said on Friday that the stash included iPhones, Apple Watches, tablet computers and laptops valued at HK$8.2 million, and was destined for the mainland for Lunar New Year.
“Some electronic products are brand new and the latest models. We don’t rule out the possibility that these are for festive gifts,” he said.
Some electronic products are brand new and the latest models. We don’t rule out the possibility that these are for festive gifts
The undeclared goods also included HK$10 million in computer random-access memory (RAM) devices, HK$5.8 million worth of central processing units and HK$345,000 worth of bird’s nests, a Chinese delicacy.
The consignment was discovered in a joint anti-smuggling operation mounted by police and customs on Wednesday night after a two-month investigation.
At about 11pm that evening, authorities said some men were unloading boxes of goods from a delivery van along the Lung Mun Road waterfront in Tuen Mun. These were then transferred to a cargo vessel.
The mainland-registered ship was intercepted in Hong Kong’s western waters, near the maritime boundary between the city and the mainland at about midnight. Three mainland men, aged 34 to 38, were arrested on board.