Hong Kong Customs today (May 9) detected a sea-bound suspected cargo smuggling case and seized 989 kilogrammes of dried abalones from a container at the Kwai Chung Customhouse Cargo Examination Compound. The total value of the seizure was about $2.8 million.
Customs officers, through risk assessment, selected for inspection a shipment arriving from South Africa declared as "dry goods pillow inner waste". Upon examination, Customs officers found 43 of the 88 carton boxes contained dried abalones weighing 989 kilograms in total.
As the dried abalones were not declared on the manifest, they were seized by Customs officers. A 49-year-old man was arrested for further investigation.
Hong Kong Customs will continue taking vigorous enforcement actions against smuggling activity. Under the Import and Export Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing unmanifested cargoes is liable to a maximum fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.
Ends/Friday, May 9, 2014
