Hong Kong customs seize more than 1,300 diamonds worth HK$25 million in biggest haul of its kind
- The Shenzhen-bound truck was found to also be carrying HK$19 million worth of gold bars
- Customs officers arrested the 47-year-old male driver on suspicion of exporting unmanifested cargo
More than 1,300 diamonds estimated to be worth HK$25 million have been seized from a truck at a border checkpoint in Hong Kong in the biggest bust of its kind locally.
The Shenzhen-bound haul was discovered when the vehicle was selected for inspection at the Sha Tau Kok control point at about 8pm on Thursday.
The truck was found to be carrying HK$19 million worth of gold bars, which were not seized by customs as they had been declared as cargo to transport from Hong Kong to Shenzhen.
The gold bars were included in the declaration with local authorities but not the diamonds. So it was not illegal to transport the precious metal from Hong Kong to Shenzhen.
The bars were found inside a suitcase in the truck’s cargo compartment. Also in the compartment were two backpacks containing the diamonds.
Senior Superintendent Mark Woo Wai-kwan, head of the Customs and Excise Department’s syndicate crimes investigation bureau, said 1,302 diamonds were seized along with 330 grams of melee diamonds, 10 blue diamonds and one emerald.