Customs officers, acting on intelligence, last night (March 19) found a suspicious local fishing vessel at the Shau Kei Wan Typhoon Shelter with goods being loaded into the fish holding unit of the vessel. The vessel then departed from the typhoon shelter, and sailing towards Hong Kong southeast waters.
When the vessel was approaching the boundary of administration heading towards the Mainland, the Customs Sector Patrol Launch intercepted the vessel in the waters off the Ninepin Group for a search. As a result, loads of high-valued goods including computer hard-disks, CCTVs, liquid display monitors, used portable computers and mobile phones, worth about $5.2 million were seized on board.
Since no valid export manifests could be produced by the vessel master to cover the cargo, three men from the Mainland including the vessel master and two crewmen were arrested by the Customs. The investigation is underway.
It was believed the seized cargo was destined for Huidong, Mainland. Customs officers also found that the smugglers made use of fake registration plates of vessels as camouflage in order to evade detection by the law enforcement agencies.
Under the Import and Export Ordinance, smuggling is a serious offence. The maximum penalty is a fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.
The Hong Kong Customs will continue to step up enforcement action to stop the inflow of contraband and to combat sea smuggling activities.
Any person who has any information on suspected smuggling activities, please call the 24-hour Customs hotline at 2545 6182.
Ends/Saturday, March 20, 2010