Hong Kong customs seizes mainland China-bound live lobsters worth HK$1.24 million in smuggling crackdown ahead of Lunar New Year
- Boxes of lobsters weighing 3.1 tonnes discovered on Lantau Island at around 7pm on Wednesday after five tricycle drivers transported them to a loading bay
- High-end food, such as lobsters, are sought after on the mainland in the run-up to Lunar New Year, superintendent says
Hong Kong customs officers have seized live lobsters worth HK$1.24 million (US$159,000) in an anti-smuggling operation on an outlying island before they could be shipped to mainland China to satisfy high demand for the delicacy in the festive season.
Boxes of lobsters weighing 3.1 tonnes were discovered in Tai O fishing village on Lantau Island at around 7pm on Wednesday after five electric tricycles transported them to a loading bay on Sun Ki Street.
Superintendent Jason Lau Yuk-lung of customs’ syndicate crimes investigation bureau on Thursday said the unregistered tricycles appeared to be new, adding a smuggling syndicate might have hired them to deliver the contraband to the waterfront area from the narrow lanes of Tai O.
Three to four men were believed to have been porters at the seashore, Lau noted, stressing that two speedboats with turned-off navigation lights were spotted heading towards the waterfront area.
The porters, as well as two tricycle drivers, were spotted loading boxes onto the speedboats after they were moored on the seashore.
“As customs officers moved in and attempted to intercept those on the seashore, the loading crew abandoned the cargo and jumped onto the two speedboats to escape,” Lau said, adding the boats fled towards Chinese waters.
He said the other three tricycle drivers had also abandoned their vehicles and fled the scene on foot.
