Coronavirus restrictions linked to sea-smuggling surge as Hong Kong customs seizes HK$150 million worth of contraband goods this year
- Confiscations so far this year are up 255 per cent by value from same period in 2019, which sources partly attribute to quarantine and border restrictions
- Gangs are profiting from the health crisis by smuggling goods from Hong Kong to the mainland to evade taxes
Hong Kong customs has seized HK$150 million worth of contraband goods as of May 13 in its crackdown on maritime smuggling, a 255 per cent increase this year that has been linked with coronavirus restrictions.
Biggest ginseng seizure in Hong Kong history nets HK$47 million worth
So far this year, customs officers seized HK$150 million worth of goods bound for the mainland in 25 sea-smuggling cases, according to assistant superintendent Danny Cheung Kwok-yin of the Customs and Excise Department’s marine enforcement group.
“The number of cases rose by 4 per cent to 25 this year from 24 in the same period last year, but the value of seized contraband increased by 255 per cent to HK$150 million this year from HK$42.3 million,” he said.
In the whole of 2019, Hong Kong customs seized HK$162.5 million worth of goods in 55 such operations.
This year’s biggest seizure was made on Thursday last week when customs officers intercepted a mainland-bound fishing boat in waters off Hong Kong International Airport to seize 34 tonnes of American ginseng worth HK$47 million.
In the latest crackdown on Tuesday night, customs officers struck a heavy blow against another cross-border smuggling ring and confiscated more than 200 boxes of contraband worth HK$23 million, in a joint operation with marine police at the city’s border town of Sha Tau Kok.
A customs official said he believed the consignment could be sold for more than HK$40 million in mainland China.
During the joint operation with police on Tuesday, officers seized nine vehicles – three trucks and six seven-seater cars – as well as a speedboat.
Police swooped at Shun Lung Street pier in Sha Tau Kok, which is about one nautical mile from the maritime boundary between Hong Kong and the mainland. High-value goods were being loaded onto speedboats, although the suspects managed to escape on one of the boats in the direction of Shenzhen and no arrests were made.
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Most of the haul was found in the trucks that were used as mobile storage centres in a nearby outdoor car park, according to assistant superintendent Cheng Tak-wing of Customs’ syndicate crimes investigation bureau.
He said on Thursday that the seven-seater cars were used to deliver contraband from the car park to the pier, where the boxes of goods were loaded onto speedboats.
On Wednesday afternoon, officers arrested two men in Sha Tau Kok for attempting to export unmanifested cargo. Customs said they were the registered owners of two vehicles linked with the case.
The seized goods included nearly HK$9 million worth of cosmetic products, HK$2.6 million worth of bird nests and HK$6 million worth of second-hand mobile phones.
Cheng said intelligence indicated the cross-border smuggling syndicate had been in operation recently.
“We believe the recent pandemic situation has promoted such illegal cross-border smuggling operations,” he said.
“Amid the pandemic-related restrictions on the land route and the demand of such high-value goods in the mainland, the syndicate takes advantage to smuggle high-value goods into the mainland to make money.”
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The two suspects, aged 47 and 49, were released on bail, pending further investigation. Cheng said further arrests were possible.
In Hong Kong, importing or exporting unmanifested cargo carries a maximum penalty of seven years in jail and a HK$2 million fine.
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