Hong Kong customs seizes 2,500 tonnes of meat bound for mainland China so far this year, more than in previous 11 years combined
- Smuggling gangs lured by profits of HK$20,000 per tonne to illegally move the frozen food by sea into Guangdong province
- Busts by weight in the first six months of this year alone were 40 per cent up on the entire 11-year period to 2019
Hong Kong customs has seized about 2,500 tonnes of frozen meat destined for mainland China so far in 2020, dwarfing the confiscation total from the previous 11 years combined, a senior official revealed on Friday.
The meat originating from countries including the United States, Brazil and Spain could be worth HK$150 million (US$19.4 million) over the border in Guangdong province and beyond if successfully smuggled, according to law enforcement sources.
Seizures in the first six months of this year alone were 40 per cent up on the 1,760 tonnes recorded over the entire period between 2009 and 2019, the Customs and Excise Department said on Friday.
A source said the lure of large profits had drawn maritime smugglers into running the illegal logistic operations between Hong Kong and the mainland, despite the enhanced enforcement measures in place. Gangs can pocket more than HK$20,000 per tonne from the enterprise.
They use barges as floating storage centres, anchored in western Hong Kong waters off the airport’s third runway, which is still under construction, before loading bags of meat onto speedboats and cargo vessels bound for the mainland.
“Intelligence indicates that during its peak, several barges, carrying up to 200 tonnes of frozen meat each, were deployed and more than 20 boats came from the mainland and berthed next to such barges to pick up the cargo one night,” the source said.
He said one speedboat could carry five tonnes of cargo at a time, often making two journeys into mainland waters per night.
“The gangs choose the area because it is close to the maritime boundary between the city and the mainland,” he said. “Their speedboats can go faster than 40 knots and take about a minute to leave Hong Kong waters.”
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He said about 10 lookouts were deployed at sea to avoid detection during the smuggling operations, which usually ran between 7pm and 1am.
Over the past six weeks, Hong Kong customs mounted an operation against such illegal activities, code-named “Minesweeping”.
Senior superintendent Mark Woo Wai-kwan, head of custom’s syndicate crime investigation bureau, said that in 10 cases from early May to June 17 this year they had seized 1,700 tonnes of frozen meat worth HK$60 million.
The biggest bust of the operation was made on Wednesday when customs officers intercepted six barges and one mainland cargo vessel with the seizure of more than 600 tonnes of frozen meat valued at HK$20 million.
In 13 cases between January and April, they confiscated about 800 tonnes of the meat worth HK$30 million.
Woo said this year’s seizure was about eight times what they confiscated over the same period last year.
Between 2009 and 2019, customs officers had seized some 1,760 tonnes of frozen meat in total, he said.
Customs seizes smuggled meat bound for mainland China in largest bust for a decade
“We spare no efforts to combat such cross-border smuggling activities,” he stressed. He said Hong Kong customs would mount joint operations with mainland authorities to fight against such illegal trade if necessary.
Woo said meat smuggling using fishing boats was prevalent in southeastern Hong Kong waters in the second half of last year, but following customs’ crackdown there, smugglers moved west.
Woo added that barges, speedboats, fishing boats and cargo vessels lacked refrigeration to store the meat, which could make it unsafe to eat.
On January 21, three customs officers died in a collision between their craft and a cargo vessel while on patrol in the same area. Officers found more than 1,000 boxes of frozen meat in the cargo vessel, but no crew members on board.
In Hong Kong, importing or exporting unmanifested cargo carries a maximum penalty of seven years in jail and a HK$2 million fine under the Import and Export Ordinance.
Suspected smuggling activities can be reported to customs’ 24-hour hotline on 2545 6182.
