Hong Kong customs officers seize HK$9.5 million worth of bird’s nests, most valuable land haul of confiscated delicacy in 2 decades
- Officers at Man Kam To control point intercept Shenzhen-bound truck for inspection that was declared to be empty
- They find 272 boxes carrying 234kg of nests and arrest 65-year-old driver
Hong Kong customs officers have confiscated bird’s nests worth HK$9.5 million (US$1.2 million) hidden in a truck headed to mainland China, the highest value seizure of its kind at a land checkpoint in two decades.
Superintendent Jason Lau Yuk-lung of the customs’ syndicate crimes investigation bureau on Thursday said the cargo, discovered at the Man Kam To control point the day before, was intended to meet demand for the delicacy on the mainland in the run-up to Lunar New Year.
It was the second major seizure of the product at a land border checkpoint in two weeks, he added. Bird’s nest is widely regarded as a delicacy in Chinese cuisine.
Customs officers at the Man Kam To control point intercepted the Shenzhen-bound truck for inspection on Wednesday afternoon. The truck was declared to be carrying no cargo.
But officers found several stacks of plastic baskets in the vehicle’s cargo compartment during an inspection.
“At the bottom of one plastic basket, a layer of plastic boxes containing bird’s nests was found with another basket placed on top to cover them,” Lau said. “Among 113 plastic baskets, customs officers uncovered 272 boxes carrying 234kg of the contraband items.”
He said the estimated HK$9.5 million haul was the biggest seizures of bird’s nests at a land control point since records began in 2002.