Hong Kong customs officers seize HK$5.5 million worth of endangered red sandalwood bound for mainland China
- The valuable wood, which was shipped from India, is meant for the manufacture of luxury furniture and carvings
- The logs were concealed inside the hollow centres of 222 items of furniture
Hong Kong law enforcers confiscated more than seven tonnes of endangered wood worth HK$5.5 million (US$709,489) hidden in two shipping containers from India and was bound for mainland China, where they would be made into luxury furniture and carvings, customs officials said on Wednesday.
A 63-year-old consignee – a Hong Kong man – was arrested on Monday after customs officers posing as logistics workers delivered the two containers to a secluded container yard in Yuen Long.
The red sandalwood, also called “red gold” for its high value, was concealed in 222 items of furniture, mainly sofas, according to the Customs and Excise Department.
“It’s the first-ever detention of smuggling wood logs concealed inside furniture and detected by Hong Kong Customs,” said Superintendent Rita Li Yim-ping of the Customs’ Syndicate Crimes Investigation Bureau.
The two shipments, declaring to be carrying non-controlled wood and furniture, arrived in Hong Kong from India on March 24.