​Hong Kong Customs on April 22 mounted an anti-smuggling operation in the western waters of Hong Kong and detected a suspected case of using a river trade vessel to smuggle goods in the waters off Black Point. About 1.68 million suspected smuggled electronic products and electronic parts with a total estimated market value of about $18 million were seized.
During an anti-smuggling operation conducted in the above-mentioned waters on that day, Customs officers intercepted a river trade vessel heading towards the Mainland. After inspection, Customs officers found the batch of suspected smuggled electronic products and electronic parts inside five containers on board the vessel. They included about 6 000 smart phones, about 3 000 computers, about 1.6 million integrated circuits, about 40 000 mobile phone parts and about 30 000 computer parts.
After a follow-up investigation, Customs arrested a 52-year-old woman and a 62-year-old man, both suspected to be connected with the case.
An investigation is ongoing and the likelihood of further arrests is not ruled out.
Customs stresses that it will keep up its enforcement action and will continue to fiercely combat sea smuggling activities by vigorously pursuing risk-management and intelligence-based enforcement strategies, along with mounting targeted anti-smuggling operations at suitable times to land a solid blow against relevant activities.
Smuggling is a serious offence. Under the Import and Export Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing or exporting unmanifested cargo is liable to a maximum fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.
Members of the public may report any suspected smuggling activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).
Ends/Wednesday, April 26, 2023
