HK$4.65 million worth of illegal cigarettes seized daily by Hong Kong customs, with HK$1.03 billion of contraband uncovered this year
- In latest operation, customs officers seize HK$115 million worth of illegal cigarettes on a barge and arrest six men
- Seizure of illicit cigarettes has gone up this year due to change in authorities’ strategy to tackle illegal trade at source, inspector says
Hong Kong customs officers on average seize HK$4.65 million (US$592,000) worth of black-market cigarettes daily, pushing the total value of the contraband uncovered this year to HK$1.03 billion, according to latest statistics.
The Customs and Excise Department on Thursday revealed that the 376 million illicit cigarettes confiscated since January, which could generate HK$716 million if legally imported, marked a 53 per cent rise, year on year, with last year’s numbers for the same period at 245 million cigarettes worth HK$675 million.
“The seizure of illicit cigarettes has gone up this year because we have changed our strategy to tackle the black market cigarettes trade at the source,” Inspector Chan Po-tin of customs’ revenue crimes investigation bureau said.
He was announcing details of the latest anti-smuggling operation that resulted in the seizure of HK$115 million worth of illegal cigarettes on a barge and the arrest of six men last week.
The barge was being towed by a tugboat when it was intercepted by customs off Tsing Yi at about 10am last Friday. Five shipping containers were found on board, with the six suspects on both vessels rounded up.
Acting senior inspector Wong Chi-yan of customs’ ports and maritime command said officers opened the containers for inspection after the crew members failed to provide supporting cargo documents.
“During the inspection, we found different brands of untaxed cigarettes packed in the containers,” she said.
The six men, aged 36 to 69, were detained on suspicion of importing unmanifested cargo, an offence punishable by up to seven years in jail and a HK$2 million fine.