Hong Kong Customs today (May 6) seized 1 707 litres in 2 610 bottles of suspected duty-not-paid liquor with an estimated market value of about $3.1 million and a duty potential of about $1 million at the Kwai Chung Customhouse Cargo Examination Compound.
Through risk assessment, Customs officers selected a seaborne container that arrived in Hong Kong from the Mainland for inspection and found the batch of suspected duty-not-paid liquor inside the container.
An investigation is ongoing.
Customs will continue its risk assessment and intelligence analysis, and step up enforcement actions for interception at source to combat illicit liquor activities for protection of revenue.
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/Thursday, May 6, 2021
