Patrols on parallel traders stepped up for holiday

Surveillance of mainland parallel-goods traders will be stepped up during the long weekend holidays, when 7.6 million travellers are expected to cross the border, immigration officials said on Thursday.

Immigration deputy division commander Gavin Ho Ka-wing said extra manpower would be deployed at border checkpoints to handle the surge in visitors, which is expected to be 20 per cent more than during last year’s “Golden Week”.

The Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays fall on Monday and Tuesday next week, respectively.

The additional border officers will also be watching for parallel-goods traders, and deny entry to suspicious travellers, Ho said. Hong Kong law enforcement authorities have cracked down on parallel traders from the mainland this month.

Saturday would be the peak day for outbound travellers’ during the holidays, Ho said.

Parallel traders buy goods in Hong Kong to sell over the border, to dodge high taxes on the mainland. Hongkongers living near the border have protested against the traders for obstructing an MTR station and nearby streets and buildings while doing business.

Since last week, more than 130 mainland parallel-goods traders have been arrested by law enforcement officers during four crackdowns in Sheung Shui.

A small number of them have been convicted in Hong Kong courts of breaching their conditions of stay by working as traders. Most of the others have been repatriated.

Twenty of them have tried to re-enter Hong Kong since their repatriation, Ho said, but they were all denied entry at the border.