Hong Kong customs seizes 596 high-end CPUs in cross-border smuggling case
- CPUs, which cost more than HK$20,000 each, found in secret compartments in boot of 51-year-old suspect’s Mercedes-Benz at border crossing
Hong Kong customs officers have arrested a businessman on suspicion of attempting to smuggle HK$12 million (US$1.53 million) worth of high-performance CPUs into mainland China.
The 596 CPUs, which cost more than HK$20,000 each, were discovered hidden in secret compartments in the boot of the 51-year-old suspect’s Mercedes-Benz after the mainland-bound car was intercepted at Shenzhen Bay Control Point last week.
Investigator Ho Ting-chun of customs’ syndicate crimes investigation bureau said on Monday that the seized items were high-performance, high-valued processors used for computer servers.
“It supports artificial intelligence and cloud services, providing advanced computing capabilities,” he said. “Smugglers could have evaded about HK$3 million in taxes if the computer units were successfully smuggled into the mainland.”
Ho said it was rare for such high-performance CPUs to be discovered in cross-border smuggling cases.
He said officers were investigating the origin of the processors and the final destination of the seized products.